McKinsey & Company just published a study that showcases the economic impact of the industry not valuing diversity and inclusion.
For the study, data was analyzed from more than 2,000 films. Many industry professionals were also interviewed. including writers, directors, producers, agents, actors, and executives. The study was a collaboration with BlackLight Collective, a coalition of Black executives and talent in the industry, including Franklin Leonard of The Black List.
It found that Hollywood could gain an additional $10 billion annually if the issues of racial inequalities were addressed. As the study reports, Black projects are consistently underfunded, despite the fact that they consistently outperform most other projects.
The study says that after 10 years of professional work, Black talent is only given about six leading roles, while white actors get around nine roles in this same time frame.
Off-screen, only 6% of the industry writers, directors, and producers are Black. Aside from this, at the executive level, 87% of TV executives and 92% of film executives are white. Executives at the industry’s top three talent agencies are about 90% white.
Several actors and directors spoke out about the study on social media:
The big C has to enter these rooms. That’s courage….which is just, “Fear said with prayers”. Moving the inclusion narrative forward can’t just be on the artists on the periphery but the gatekeepers, studio execs…etc. It’s time for some hardcore conversations. Just sayin’…. https://t.co/ZUaQNYTCGf
— Viola Davis (@violadavis) March 11, 2021
Simple math+systemic racism=#10BillionInTheBlack #BlackLightCollective #McKonRace https://t.co/xuK1B2eD4y
— Gina Prince-Bythewood (@GPBmadeit) March 11, 2021
You can read the full report here.