United States: the representation of minorities on TV increases but remains limited
The representation of women and minorities among actors in television series in the United States is almost at the level of their presence in society, but it remains very insufficient in the positions of responsibility in the industry, reveals a study published Thursday
The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) "Diversity in Hollywood Report" estimates that 35% of the leading roles in TV series last year went to actors from ethnic or cultural minorities, who make up about 40% of the US population.
Women accounted for 45% of the lead roles, with a peak of 49% for video on demand.
In contrast, minorities made up only 8% of managerial or senior management positions in the television industry, and less than a third are held by women.
“There has been a lot of progress for women and people of color on camera,” said Darnell Hunt, a sociologist at UCLA and co-author of this report.
“Unfortunately, there hasn't been the same progress behind the camera. Particularly in management positions, there has been very little change since we started collecting statistics five years ago, ”he laments.
More than a third of the awards from the latest Emmy Awards, the equivalent of the Oscars for American television, went to black actors, a record. But the UCLA report points out that other minorities (Latin Americans, Asians, natives, etc.) are still under-represented on television.
And white men still reign supreme in positions of responsibility.
For Ana-Christina Ramon, co-author of the report, this lack of professionals of color among senior executives is "problematic", as some plots "may lack authenticity or be written in a caricatured manner."
The report analyzed television series aired between 2017 and 2019 in the United States and came to the same conclusions as a similar report made earlier in the year on film productions.
