This is a good point, but were would Marlin be without Dory?, where would Lightening be without Sally? Where would Bob be without Helen?
The list goes on, yes there are no femail “lead roles” but if you ask me the femaile roles are just as important because without them the main male character would be lost or useless.
Just my opinion 
In my opinion, I would like to think of it this way. Just because you aren’t the main, main character, that doesn’t mean you can’t still be considered a lead. Helen, Atta, Dory, etc are the main girls, so I like to think that they are leads, just as important as the guys.
You actually make it sound as if Dory, Sally and Helen’s purposes are just for the male leads. I do think those female characters are important in the film, but they still aren’t leads I’m afraid.
I think it’s because most of Pixar consists of males, but they did mention they’re getting more female workers. I think they’ll need a female to direct, because the only reason I can think of why there is no strong female lead character is because guys can’t relate to her, more specifically they wouldn’t know much on how to make her believable. Same problem for me but the opposite- I always have to double-check with my brother to make sure I’m making a guy character do or say what they normally would. Of course I have a pretty good idea but it would be a whole lot easier if I were a guy, which I’m not. I guess the same could be said in Pixar, but the opposite. Hopefully if my story makes it to film it can be one of those films with a strong female lead. 
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I read somewhere (Upcoming Pixar, I’m supposing) that Brenda Chapman is directing a currently unnamed Pixar film. So that makes her the first female to direct a Pixar film.
Well, at least that breaks the barrier for Directing at Pixar. Now don’t we all wish that a female character would step up and deliever? 
We actually talked about this in my Psychology of Gender class last year. Not just Pixar, but the movie-making industry in general. Especially family films. The professor actually had a picture of Cars up as an example of a sexist film. That whole thing made me a little irritated because it was like she was insulting one of my favorite movies and favorite institutions just because the lead character was male. She also made the point that there are so many more male characters in these movies than female ones. Which I guess is true, but again, that made me irritated that she chose “to make an example” of Cars like that. If you define it by the number of males vs females then you could say sexism is everywhere, not just at Pixar. I never got the impression that they were trying for male dominance here. I never even thought about it. Pixar just comes up with good stories with interesting characters and if most of them are male, then so be it. That doesnt detract from me liking them.
Funny how the only female lead character I can think of in a Disney film is Mulan, and yet she poses as a male for the most part. 
Pixar will deliver, but in the meantime, I’m not bothered by the male dominance.
~~=oP
I’m finding it only bugs me a bit when people bring it up. I’m sure this was not intentional, but if someone points it out to them I’m sure they’d realize that and probably would release a film with a strong female lead.
Let’s not forget they looked to the actresses to make strong female characters, like Ellen Degeneres and Joan Cusack. They brought a lot to their characters, and Pixar can’t be gender biased since they let them. 
I hope a Pixar film, someday, will not only have a female director, but the main character(s) will be female.
What strikes me as weirdest about that is that Cars is the one movie where gender is totally arbitrary. They’re automobiles. The only thing that even suggests they possess any awareness of gender is their voices and the pronouns that are used.
I mean their windshield wipers are eyes for pete’s sake. Talk about overthinking it (on your professor’s part).
Well, some of us now know that:
[spoil]The Bear and the Bow will have a female lead role. [/spoil]
[spoil]REALLLY? [/spoil]
[spoil]From what I understand. But you’ll be waiting a few years. [/spoil]
JF: [spoil]Well, it’s worth the wait, no? : D[/spoil]
Definitely.
Umm, ex-squeeze me?
Sexism in Pixar movies? Well that’s 31 flavors of rubbish. While I respect the writer’s opinions, lets consider this.
Firstly, by omission, Pixar is not “sexist”. That’s like saying, Pixar doesn’t praise minorities, so they must be racist. The forefront of Pixar’s films are their stories, just because they aren’t completely women centric doesn’t mean that the are oppressive of upward mobility. Pixar isn’t looking to make a “girl movie” just like they aren’t trying to make that sound effect sound “super cool”. They’re there to tell compelling stories. And one comes up, they’ll tell it.
Secondly, Brenda Chapman is directing Bear and the Bow and the main character is entered into the Disney Princess canon. While I agree it’s time we had a female director making a film at Pixar, there are many women working at Pixar who are incredibly admirable on many levels.
Thirdly and lastly, they’re omitting the female presence in PIxar movies. Jessie in Toy Story 2 is an independent and self-sufficient female character. With the exception of the final scenes in Toy Story 2, she isn’t romantically involved with anyone. Feminists would say that a woman doesn’t need a man to define them and neither does Jessie. And Jessie was created after John Lasseter’s wife requested a female character and John said that he hit himself for not thinking of it first.
They are also forgetting another obvious example: Helen/ElastiGirl in The Incredibles. Helen is a very strong woman who chooses to give up a “super” life to take care of her family and raise her children properly. There is nothing more noble than that. In the words of John Walker, producer of the move in the Audio Commentary, Helen is still a very strong woman. When her and Bob are fighting she “can tower over you, should she choose to”.
So in short, I think it’s very extreme to say that Pixar is in any way sexist. They shouldn’t throw out terms like that so liberally. The way women were treated pre-civil rights and free speech movement: yes, that was sexist. Walking into work and being sexually harassed both verbally and physically while never getting opportunities to advance in the company: that’s sexist.
It’s ironic that we live in a “PC” culture yet people in positions of authority are allowed to make an poorly founded opinion so loudly heard.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
B3000: Whoa. Nice.
Here’s how I see it; in animation as a business, it’s mostly men. It is basic impulse for somebody to usually make a main character their own gender, because it’s easier for them to relate to the character and figure out how to work with them. Sometimes, a guy will purposefully use a girl lead to do a girl-power bit, but mostly people write their own gender as leads. I mean, look at fandom. The VAST majority of OCs are girls, unless they have to be a boy for a specific reason. This is not a coincidence. II know that I usually write female leads because I am one. That doesn’t mean I’m sexist anymore than Pixar is. I have a secondary character in the novel I’m trying to write that is a very strong male character.
Does that make Pixar sexist? Absolutely not. Lead or not, Pixar has strong female characters in almost every movie they’ve done. Just because they are not the lead doesn’t mean they are not important.
Toy Story 1: Okay, so Bo Peep was REALLY girly. Not the best example of hard core females. She wasn’t stupid though. (Right? My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I’m pretty sue she had a brain)
Toy Story 2: Somebody already mentioned Jessie.
Bugs Life: The princess wasn’t exactly a helpless damsel if I recall correctly.
Monster’s INC: Mike’s girlfriend was anything but a pushover.
Finding Nemo: Dory, while a bit out there, was strong and stood up for things she cared about. Peach was a down to Earth character and was one of the smartest in the tank.
Incredibles: Elastagirl is one of the best examples in the lineup so far. She was like, the anti-sexism icon. “Leave saving the world to the men? I don’t think so!”
Cars: Sally was intelligent and probably one of the smartest people in the cast.
Ratatouille: Collete was hard core, by far the toughest character in the cast.
WALL-E: The supporting character, EVE, is a very strong female character. She’s smart, determined, and good with a plasma blaster to boot to the point that the main male character can sometimes be a bit frightened by it.
To be honest, I find it funny how in our culture, guys can be pushed around by girls or treated stupid and it’s funny, but if a girl isn’t the lead, it’s considered sexist. We need to get over the past and realize that the only times we are not equal in general culture now is when we let ourselves be treated as objects in the media, and PIXAR never does anything like that.
Just my two cents.