UCLA's Hollywood diversity study shows gains, but much remains to be done: NPR

While gains have been made for women and people of color working in film and television, the numbers are still far from proportionally reflecting the US population, according to a new UCLA study.

The annual report on Hollywood diversity examines diversity in front and behind the camera. He also looks at box office and ratings.

The report indicates that evidence continues to suggest that "increasingly diverse audiences in the United States prefer a diverse content of films and TV shows," and that "diversity is essential for the bottom line of # 39; Hollywood ".

The report revealed that many high-quality programmed television shows are broadcast in a wide variety of scenarios. However, the report also notes that while people of color make up nearly 40% of the US population, only a fraction of that number works as screenwriter (12.6%) or director (7.8%).

The report also shows that the number of women directors almost doubled from 2016 to 2017, but only about 12.6%.

Darnell Hunt is Professor of Sociology and African-American Studies at UCLA and co-author of the study. He notes how the attitudes of industry towards diversity have changed since the first study of his group, published in 2014.

"When we started to study diversity … it was kind of considered a luxury, but it's not what drives daily business practices," Hunt said. "Over time, it became clear that the public was becoming more diverse and demanding diverse content, diversity itself was seen as a business imperative, and diverse audiences are demanding. again … most people would not have talked about it, you know, five or ten years ago, and today everyone is talking about it. "