Why The Hollywood Reporter is ending its power rankings for women

The Hollywood Reporter has ended its annual power rankings of women in Hollywood.

President and chief creative officer Janice Min wrote in a posting Wednesday that, 23 years after the list began, "the moment feels wrong to host a female cage match."

Citing prevailing gender imbalance in Hollywood, Min said the much sought-after list was contributing to the problem. Conceived as a way to celebrate and rank the most influential female executives, filmmakers and stars in an industry long dominated by men, the list had come to appear, Min said, like a "beauty pageant of brains where only one woman gets crowned."

"I've come to believe that something as simple as our ranked women's lists contributes to keeping that sense alive, that we accidentally created a beauty pageant of brains where only one woman gets crowned. Some women have publicly cried upon seeing their rankings. That is funny to some people. But it's depressing as hell to me," Min wrote.

The Hollywood Reporter will instead do a power ranking of men and women. The trade's sister publication, Billboard, will also combine genders for its ranking of music executives.