2019 revealed as record year for diversity in film, according to new report

Snubbed: 2019 was a record year for diversity, despite the like of Jennifer Lopez missing out at the Oscars
Courtesy of STXfilms
Harry Fletcher6 February 2020

It might not be obvious from the list of Oscar nominees, but 2019 was reportedly a record year for diversity in film.

A new study from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that 43 of the 100 top movies from last year featured a female lead or co-lead, up from 39 in 2018 and 21 in 2014.

Of those female leads and co-leads, the Initiative recorded that 16 were from “underrepresented racial/ethnic groups” – an increase from 11 in 2018.

The think tank, which studies inclusion and diversity in the entertainment industries, also reported that 31 of the top 100 films featured a lead or a co-lead “from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group”, which is up from 27 in 2018 and just nine in 2011.

“For the first time in more than a decade, film is on par with television with regard to the quantity of stories about girls and women,” the report reads.

A lack of diversity has been particularly apparent during this awards season. The Academy Awards faced a backlash online after snubbing the likes of Jennifer Lopez in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in Hustlers.

Joaquin Phoenix also took aim at “systemic racism” during his BAFTAs acceptance speech, criticising the fact that all the acting nominees at the awards were white.

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