Diversity Behind the Camera

Actress Michelle Yeoh, seen here at the 28th annual Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles on January 15, 2023, is the only non-white actor in the best actress category at the Academy Awards [Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP]

It’s awards season, that time of the year when the moving image is celebrated in all its forms. The world’s most prolific actors, directors, writers, producers, cinematographers, musicians, editors, costume designers, animators and other creatives are feted with shiny statuettes, critical acclaim and, most importantly, cultural and professional currency.

In recent years, this season has also led to increased scrutiny of the lack of representation of women and minorities in the film and television industries. Last year, the Golden Globes went on a hiatus amid criticism of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — which bestows those awards — over poor diversity.


Yet for all the talk and hashtags, the reality remains grim. Michelle Yeoh is the only non-white actor in the best actress category at the Academy Awards, and the Oscars are courting controversy for ignoring Viola Davis in The Woman King and Danielle Deadwyler in Till. The best actor category only includes white men, and the best director segment doesn’t feature any women or Black filmmakers.

In fact, things are getting worse. While there is at least significant media attention on the need to increase representation on screen, the numbers tell an even more sorry tale when it comes to diversity off screen.

A recent USC Annenberg study, which looked at the gender, race and ethnicity of directors behind the 100 highest-grossing movies of 2022, found only 9 percent were women, down from 12.7 percent in 2021. Only 20.7 percent of directors were Black, Asian, Hispanic, Latino or multiracial directors, down from 27.3 percent in 2021. Another study by San Diego State University (pdf) arrived at similar conclusions.

Of course, many prominent television and OTT series and movies have featured non-white characters in lead roles in recent years. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — which awards the Oscars — instituted diversity and inclusion standards in 2020. Under those rules, creatives from diverse ethnic and minority communities must be hired in major roles for films to have a shot at the best picture award from the 2024-25 season.  READ MORE...