Hollywood fails to tackle inequality in director's chair, study finds

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Hollywood has failed to make progress in reducing gender and racial inequality in the past decade with a vast majority of directors being male and white, according to a new study released Thursday.

A report titled "Inclusion in the Director's Chair?" by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at the University of Southern California analyzed data on gender and race of 1,223 directors of the 1,100 top movies over the last decade from 2007 to 2017, finding that 95.7 percent of the directors were male and only 4.3 percent were female. This represented a ratio of 22 males to each female director.

In 2017, only eight of the top 100 movies were directed by women. None of these female directors have appeared previously in the 100 top films across the 11-year time frame investigated.

The findings underscore the magnitude of a problem that has come into focus in the last few months as the entertainment industry grapples with its treatment of women. Tinseltown was shell-shocked in 2017 by a wave of sexual harassment and misconduct accusations that have been made against many powerful figures in Hollywood.

To make true progress, the study suggested that expanding the number of jobs filled by women is required.

The study also highlighted racial inequality in director's chair. Only 5.2 percent of all the 1,223 directors were black, and 3.2 percent were Asian across the 11 years evaluated.

The study said some of the largest media companies in the world continue to underperform when it comes to hiring diverse directors and that inequality begins at the top, adding that now is the time for action as the industry finds itself at a crossroads. Enditem