After the Writers Guild of America approved a new three-year contract with major studios, Hollywood writers from underrepresented groups, many nervous about their job security in the rapidly changing industry, aim to refocus studios’ attention on increasing diversity.
The WGA represents 11,500 film and television writers, but many minority members — people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, disabled people and women — hoped the negotiations would have made diversifying the business a priority.
The Guild’s demands did not directly address diversity. But WGA West board member and negotiating committee member Angelina Burnett said the contract talks were meant to protect everyone’s economic stability. The new contract was approved on Monday.
However, some Hollywood minority writers are troubled by what they see as institutional bias after several diversity initiatives suffered during cost-cutting this year. Studios are not as outspoken about the inclusion pledges they made after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Some writers have decided to launch their own initiatives to revive those promises and support other minority writers.
“There will need to be lots of efforts made by writers and companies to make sure that our hiring is as equitable as possible,” said writer Luvh Rakhe, who is South Asian American, has worked on sitcom “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” among others and was a WGA negotiator.
Caroline Renard, a writer on animated children’s show “Bossy Bear,” co-founded Black Women Rising after Floyd’s death. The group’s mission is to help low- to mid-level Black women writers in their careers. Similar groups like Black Women Brunch and Black Male Screenwriters also support Black writers.
Renard said building community and resources remains vital because underrepresented writers fear that studios after the strike will focus on cost-cutting to make up for lost revenue, rather than diversity.
This summer, six Black women executives who led diversity and inclusion initiatives abruptly left their jobs at major Hollywood organizations including Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O), Netflix (NFLX.O), the BBC and the Academy of Motion Pictures.
Some were laid off while others voluntarily quit. The reasons were not publicly announced, but the exodus occurred as studios including Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and Netflix implemented major cost cuts.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group representing the major studios, did not respond to a request for comment. The companies have largely been silent about diversity initiatives since the strikes began in May.
Industry in upheaval
Employment figures for the industry back up claims that minority writers are underrepresented. The share of Black, Indigenous and people of color in screen employment was 22.6% in 2020 while these groups accounted for 42.2% of the U.S. population, according to a WGA report.