It's Getting Better, But Let's Not Forget Hollywood Still Has A Diversity Issue

LOADING ERROR LOADING Hollywood has long struggled with a lack of diversity ― and a new report shows that, although it’s getting a bit better, we still have a long way to go. The 2017 Hollywood Diversity Report, which was released by the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA on Tuesday, focused on roughly 200 theatrical films released in 2015 and 1,206 TV shows that were airing or streaming in the 2014-2015 season. The study noted that these behind-the-scenes roles are often the “powerful positions responsible for which stories get told.” “The biggest racial imbalance was among film writers, where minorities were outnumbered by greater than seven to one.” The report also found that part of the diversity problem can be traced to the whiteness of the top three talent agencies, a trend that the Center has identified in its previous diversity reports. Most recently, “Hidden Figures,” a film about three black female mathematicians at NASA, surpassed expectations at the box office and has been hailed as an example of just profitable diversity can be.