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 2014-15 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.”

Source: Arab News