A BIT OF PROGRESS
Women and minorities are faring better in Hollywood and feature prominently at this year’s upcoming Oscars, but they are still woefully underrepresented overall in the entertainment industry, according to a report issued on Tuesday.
The “2017 Hollywood Diversity Report” – the fourth in a series by the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at the University of California Los Angeles – examined 200 top- grossing films released in 2015 as well as 1,206 television shows that aired or streamed during the 2014- 15 season.
It also tracked hiring of women and minorities, both on screen and behind the camera, in 11 job types.
“Since the last report, the good news is that minorities and women have made some progress, particularly in television, which is currently engaged in what might be characterized as a ‘ Golden Age,’” the report said.
“The bad news is that despite these gains, minorities and women remained underrepresented on every measure in television during the 201415 season.”
The study comes just days before the Academy Awards which in past years faced scathing criticism and boycott calls for nominating only white actors in the main categories.
This year, however, a record number of black actors were nominated for the glitzy awards ceremony being held on Sunday, averting a repeat of the # OscarsSoWhite controversy.
Still, the UCLA study said that despite the inclusion of more black actors in this year’s nominations, “the exclusion of people of color and women from Hollywood remains a concern.”
“While there have been some improvements, especially in television, the numbers remain disheartening g across the board,” said Darnell Hunt, the report’s lead author and director of the Bunche Center.
“At the heart of it is the fact that Hollywood is simply not structured to make the most of today’s market realities.”
The study noted that miminorities make up 40 percent rcent of the population in the US but only 13.6 percent of leadd actors in films and 10.1 percent of Hollywood directors.
As for women, despite the fact that they make up 50 percent of the US population, they got just 29 percent of lead roles in films and fewer than 10 percent of the directors of the top 200 films in 2015 were women.
“In terms of sophistication of content, television might be considered to be in something of a golden age,” said Hunt, who also is chair of the UCLA sociology department. “But in terms of representation and opportunity, we still have a long way to go.