A study published by the University of Southern California (USC) concluded that Hollywood remains a “white boys’ club,” which excludes other social sectors from the industry.
Women receive fewer speaking roles than men and their presence as directors or producers is still somewhat rare, stated the report. Similarly, African Americans, Latinos, and members from the gay, lesbian and transgender communities remain just symbolic characters in the Hollywood industry.
The study, published by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, says Hollywood has a problem with diversity. The film industry still functions as a straight white boy’s club, it added.
Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, among other film stars, have called to boycott the Oscars because of the absence of African Americans among the nominees in acting categories.
The study was based on 414 productions for film, television and digital platforms, in which more than 11,000 characters and 10,000 film workers were analyzed.