Female characters are getting scarcer in kids' animation — and the data says it's a slide, not a blip. The Geena Davis Institute's “2026 Report on Children's TV Representation,” produced in partnership with Nielsen, delivers the gut-punch: just 40.6% of animated characters in 2025 new programming were female — the lowest share since 2020, and down from a record high of 44.2% in 2023. The Institute flagged animation as a particular trouble spot, noting that female representati