Diversity in Hollywood 2019: Why it's time for change and 5 possible solutions
The film industry prides itself on progressive values, but the numbers in Part 2 tell a different story. Discrimination is so ingrained in the film industry that it won’t go away on its own; studios are gradually realizing that they need to make intentional, strategic changes to end their biased hiring practices. That’s not to say that studios need to hire less qualified people in order to increase diversity; it’s that they need to open up the field to equally qualified people who have been denied opportunities. This in turn will encourage more underrepresented groups to pursue jobs in the film industry, widening the talent pool so that the best people all get a fair shot.
A more diverse Hollywood actually benefits the studios in more ways than one. Besides having a greater number of qualified candidates for jobs, studios that embrace diversity expand their audience, therefore making more money. This isn’t just a theory. A continually updated study by the talent agency CAA determined that a majority of the highest-grossing films from 2016 through 2018 attracted an audience that was at least 50 percent non-white. The study concluded that regardless of budget, a film with a cast that is at least 30 percent non-white will have a stronger opening weekend than a film that does not. In terms of global box office, where the conventional wisdom has always been that non-white performers “don’t sell,” tentpole films with diverse casts made an average of $147 million more than those with less diverse casts.
In terms of gender, women now make up 51 percent to 52 percent of moviegoers, which means they have a lot of influence at the box office. An MPAA marketing study from 2016 revealed that three of the year’s five highest-grossing films (Finding Dory, The Secret Life of Pets and The Jungle Book) attracted a majority-female audience. Even for traditionally “male” franchises (Star Wars and Avengers), women made up more than 40 percent of ticket buyers. And in another blow to conventional wisdom, blockbusters with female leads have been outperforming those with male leads since 2014 (according to a 2018 study by CAA and shift7).
Most filmgoers don’t determine which movie to see based solely on how many women or minorities are in the cast. But studies have shown that audiences internalize and normalize the world they see reflected onscreen. As media scholar Michael Morgan told The Huffington Post, “When you don’t see people like yourself, the message is: You’re invisible. The message is: You don’t count. And the message is: ‘There’s something wrong with me.’”
When most films have twice as many men as women, audiences start to believe, on some level, that men’s stories are more important than women’s stories. When white characters in family films outnumber characters of color by 4 to 1, young filmgoers grow up with the message that someone’s skin color determines how much they should care about that person’s story. These are damaging messages for a country where more than half the population is female, and nearly 40 percent of the population is non-white. Don’t all of us deserve to have our stories told?
Fortunately, this is not an impossible goal. Here are five strategic, realistic solutions to Hollywood’s inclusion problem, as proposed by think tanks and advocacy groups.
1. Inclusion riders
If you’ve heard of this one, it’s probably because Frances McDormand shouted it from the stage while accepting her Oscar last year. An “inclusion rider” is simply language added to a contract, asking that the filmmaker or producer hire some people from underrepresented groups (female, LGBT, people of color, and/or people with disabilities) to work on their film, both in front of and behind the camera. (Here’s what an inclusion rider looks like, as conceived by the woman who invented it, Dr. Stacy L. Smith at the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.) Warner Bros. is the only major studio so far to commit to using inclusion riders.
2. The 4 percent challenge
Launched by the Time’s Up organization, the 4 percent challenge is named for the percentage of female directors working on Hollywood films. Taking the 4 percent challenge means committing to work with a female director on a feature film in the next 18 months. Three major studios (Universal, Warner Bros. and Paramount) have accepted the challenge, as have a growing list of movie stars, directors and producers like Brie Larson, J.J. Abrams, Jordan Peele, Natalie Portman, Paul Feig and Armie Hammer.
3. Add five
The researchers at USC Annenberg have determined that if every studio committed to adding five female characters to every film, regardless of whether they’re background parts, supporting roles or leads, then the top films can quickly achieve an equal balance of men and women onscreen. Studios can take this commitment a step further by making some of these roles intersectional (representing more than one minority group).
4. Make hiring processes transparent
In a 2019 report, the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative proposed this specifically for directors: Job interviews should be grounded in “objective and quantifiable criteria,” so that all candidates will be evaluated using the same standards. In the words of the researchers: “Doing this will move away from gut-based decision-making or consideration processes that link director gender or race/ethnicity solely to the lead character of the film. These are two blindspots that continue to prevent access and opportunity for women and people of color behind the lens.”
5. Partnership with change-makers
Hollywood studios don’t have to do this alone. Plenty of organizations are working within the film industry to support, mentor, and train talented individuals from underrepresented groups. A few of these are the Evolve Entertainment Fund, co-chaired by Ava DuVernay; the Sundance Institute Diversity Initiative; the Women in Film organization; Time’s Up Entertainment’s “Who’s in the room” initiative; the Hollywood Reporter’s Young Executives Fellowship and Women in Entertainment mentorship program; the nonprofit Ghetto Film School; and the film-industry-based vocational trade school Hollywood CPR. Many more organizations provide training for specific skills, databases of underrepresented talent, and resources to help studios achieve inclusivity goals.
Yahoo Entertainment’s Diversity in Hollywood 2019 Report
Part 1: Where we are, how far we have to go and how we can get there
Part 2: By the numbers
Part 3: Why it’s time for change and 5 possible solutions
Part 4: Crossroads at the Oscars
Part 5: The future is now
