Residents of Wisconsin should be aware that discrimination is still part of every industry, including Hollywood’s entertainment industry. A recent article regarding a WGA (Writers Guild of America) West Study showed that there was a ways to go for women writers as well as people of color. Although gains have been made, minority writers in Hollywood have not been hired as readily.
Minorities & writing jobs
According to an article in the Hollywood Reporter, hiring of minorities for writing jobs has increased but is still behind their percentage of the population. With women representing 51 percent of the population, they accounted for 44 percent of the 2,717 TV writing jobs. This was for the 2019-20 TV season across all network, cable and streaming platforms. People of color, who represent 40 percent of the U.S. population, were only able to secure 35 percent of the writing jobs.
“Both women and people of color have increased their representation among TV showrunners by 6 percent over the last two years,” the WGAW report found. The movie production industry lags behind the TV industry in the hiring of underrepresented writers, the survey found.
With almost no representation at all, Middle Eastern and native/indigenous screenwriters lagged far behind in hiring for writing. Latinx, Black and Asian-American screenwriters are still underrepresented in terms of their numbers in the population.
Protection against discrimination is given in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion) and is not allowed by law. People who want to know more about workplace discrimination should consult with an attorney.
Some people may feel they have been the recipient of discrimination because of color or national origin. In this case, consulting with an attorney who is experienced in employment law is the best option. A lawsuit might be the result.