NEXT-GEN LEADERS TACKLE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
PRODUCERS AND EXECUTIVES PUSH FOR CONTENT THAT REFLECTS A BROAD SPECTRUM OF AMERICA
WITH THE SPOTLIGHT ON DIVERSITY and inclusion shining ever brighter, Hollywood’s emerging leaders of color take their responsibility for improving representation on screen and off seriously.
“What I’ve been really focused on is trying to address diversity, equity and inclusion,” Aaron Edmonds, director of development and production for Lionsgate, tells Variety. “That’s through the content I’m championing and working on, as well as efforts I’m making within Lionsgate, along with leadership, and the third thing is trying to help support the next level of executives that are coming up behind me.”
His Lionsgate projects include “Antebellum,” starring Janelle Monáe; the studio’s multipronged “The 1619 Project,” a collaborative effort with Oprah Winfrey and the New York Times; plus an Angela Davis biopic.
“Projects like ‘1619,’ for me, it’s just an honor to be a part of that,” he says.
Jaime Dávila, producer of Netflix’s forthcoming Selena Quintanilla series, is similarly passionate about Latinx fare: “I know that
Latin content can travel,” he says. “Most executives didn’t grow up on both sides watching ‘Friends’ and Spanish-language telenovelas. I take the responsibility of bringing them my experience and showing them that there’s a business there.”
While acting jobs for women and people of color have grown overall, those groups remain underrepresented behind the scenes in Hollywood, according to UCLA’S 2020 Hollywood Diversity Report.
“What’s being green-lit matters,” says Ana-christina Ramon, director of research and civic engagement for the UCLA college division of social sciences, and co-author of the report. “Although the industry is changing in front of the camera, white men are still doing the overwhelming majority of making major decisions behind the scenes at the studios.”
The report analyzed 11 major and mid-major studios and found that 91% of C-level positions are held by white people and 82% are held by men. Among all senior executive positions, 93% are held by white people and 80% by men.