UCLA report: Hollywood needs to change its world view to reflect today's multi-ethnic audiences

The bottom line of a new UCLA report for Hollywood's corporate leaders is: Diversity is good for business.

For Hollywood to be a more inclusive and diverse industry, companies need to implement a five-point strategy for hiring, sponsoring and promoting minorities and women — especially women of color — the new UCLA study suggests. 

The study, published Wednesday (Sept. 18), was drafted by the authors of UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report. It is based on an analysis of current diversity programs at Hollywood studios, agencies and other companies and interviews of 21 entertainment industry leaders with experience in diversity and inclusion efforts.

“There are many diversity hiring programs in place, but they are not always systematic or fully integrated into how companies actually do business,” said Darnell Hunt, dean of the division of social sciences at UCLA, and co-author of the report. “While these programs have served as a sort of lottery benefiting a few exceptional individuals, they are not contributing to overall, sustained progress on the equitable representation of women and minorities.

“Thus, they also do not serve the larger issue of making the content that today’s increasingly diverse audiences demand.”

According to the report, companies can improve diversity and inclusion by following five essential practices:

• Modernize their worldviews of the evolving American audience, which is now 40 percent minority and 50 percent female. Businesses can do this by establishing a public statement about their diversity mission, setting specific goals with timelines that support the stated mission, and teaching employees that change is not only inevitable but beneficial.

• Expand hiring searches to include candidates of diverse racial, ethnic, gender, disability and LGBTQ backgrounds. In part, companies can do this by tapping into databases like Creative Artist Agency’s list of TV writers of color and Women in Hollywood’s female filmmakers roster, and by expanding outreach to colleges.

• Implement a robust strategy to amplify the roles of women, and women of color in particular, in leadership roles. Previous research has shown that when women occupy leadership roles, projects and work environments are considerably more inclusive.

• Normalize compensation packages, especially for entry-level jobs, because minority hires from non-affluent backgrounds often cannot afford to take low-paying jobs despite their high-value networking opportunities.

• Structure incentives for decision makers to prioritize diversity and inclusion at all levels.

Modernize their worldviews of the evolving American audience, which is now 40 percent minority and 50 percent female. Businesses can do this by establishing a public statement about their diversity mission, setting specific goals with timelines that support the stated mission, and teaching employees that change is not only inevitable but beneficial.

“Clearly there is no one-size-fits all approach to this issue, and making meaningful change is a deliberate process that requires sustained effort and a commitment to carry out the work at all levels from top to bottom,” said Ana-Christina Ramon, director of research and civic engagement for the social sciences division and the co-author of the new report. “We’re offering a list of sustainable actions that can be refined and adapted to fit any existing efforts. This problem won’t solve itself. The path ahead must be paved with intention.”

The box office success of 'Crazy Rich Asians' widened Hollywood's world view.

The researchers write that all five practices must be integrated to achieve the kind of meaningful change that would enable Hollywood to reflect America’s increasingly diverse mainstream. The Hollywood Diversity Report, which published the results of its sixth annual analysis in February, has repeatedly demonstrated that films and programs with diverse casts and creators are profitable.  

“Diversity must be seen as a business imperative, because it is,” Hunt said.

"In 2017, Latino market buying power was $1.5 trillion, followed by $1.3 trillion for African Americans, $986 billion for Asian Americans and $114 billion Native Americans, respectively. The result? Today’s “mainstream” market is defined by its remarkable and increasing diversity," cites the report.

"It follows that people of color are also avid moviegoers and have had a profound impact on the success of Hollywood’s top films. In 2017, for example, people of color accounted for the majority of domestic ticket buyers for five of the top ten films, ranked by global box office," continued the report. "Moreover, people of color bought half of the tickets for one of the remaining five top ten films that year. It is worth noting that seven of the top ten films had casts that were 21 percent or more diverse."

UCLA’s annual Hollywood Diversity Report series published in February has consistently found that despite the stark underrepresentation of women and people of color in the industry, diversity sells at the box office. The report cites the box office success of Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther as examples.

After the so-called “Hollywood white out” TV season of 1999–2000 began without a single new show featuring a lead character of color, the NAACP and a coalition of media and social justice organizations demanded that the entertainment industry stop systematically excluding minorities.

“We are once again challenging studios, networks and production companies to take a hard look at their workforce, to see where and if they have improved, and to seek out ways to ensure that the entertainment industry is diverse and inclusive, and to continue their focus on the creative community’s acceptance of talent, regardless of age, race, religion or gender,” said Vicangelo Bulluck, who as executive director of the NAACP’s Hollywood bureau, led efforts against the “white out” and chaired the advisory board for the report.

Scarlett Johansson 'whitewashed' Ghose in A Shell.

In addition, today’s multi-ethnic audiences are also very savvy and sensitive to inauthentic casting or “whitewashing.” Ghost in the Shell, a film based on a Japanese comic and numerous anime adaptations, received negative attention once news circulated that the lead character — who is Japanese in the original story — would be portrayed by the white actress Scarlett Johansson. The movie grossed only $40.6 million in the United States, despite a budget of $110 million. 

The report concludes: "Current status quo approaches to addressing the entertainment industry’s diversity problem have failed to move the needle in any significant way. This fact is documented in numerous studies cited throughout this report. 

"We must get beyond thinking of diversity programs as lottery systems that reward just a few hardworking and highly talented individuals. If the goal is truly to establish an inclusive Hollywood, one in which the storytelling that defines us as a nation better reflects the new mainstream, then the means outlined in this report must replace industry default positions and simply engaging in business as usual."

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