This episode, Cheryl and Manon break down the diversity paradox and how Hollywood is leaving billions of dollars on the table. Over and over, studies have shown that more diverse representation in film and TV positively impacts both viewership and the bottom line, yet marginalized communities are still severely underrepresented on-screen. 

In our hot tea segment for premium subscribers, we talk about pitching our own projects, all of which have marginalized leads, and some of the (positive and negative) responses we’ve had. Perhaps the most perplexing: “this is too diverse”. 

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Links mentioned:

• Non-White Audiences More Likely To Watch Shows With Diverse Casts – Deadline

• Diverse TV Resonates With Audiences, UCLA Study Finds | Time

• Taika Waititi Addresses Hollywood's Issues in Diversity & Inclusion: "What's Taking So Long?" - YouTube

• The Prevalence and Portrayal of Asian American and Pacific Islanders across 1,300 Popular Films (uscannenberg.org)

• Hispanic and Latino Representation in Film: Erasure On Screen & Behind the Camera Across 1,300 Popular Movies (uscannenberg.org)

• Inclusion in the Director's Chair: Analysis of Director Gender and Race/Ethnicity Across the 1,600 Top Films from 2007 to 2022 (uscannenberg.org)

• As women age with longevity on their side, the financial future is female (rbcwealthmanagement.com)

• We We Need More Movies About Older Women Like Book Club (katiecouric.com)

• Ageism in Hollywood: ‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen It’ | Next Avenue

• Hollywood Losing $10B in Potential Annual Revenue From Black Inequity, Says McKinsey Report – The Hollywood Reporter

• A Hidden Market: The Purchasing Power of Working-Age Adults with Disabilities (air.org)

• Disability Representation In Hollywood - The Pioneers You Probably Don’t Know Enough About (forbes.com)

• Understanding the Multi-Billion Dollar LGBT Market – Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication (fsu.edu)

• Taylor Sheridan Interviw https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/taylor-sheridan-yellowstone-interview-1235519261/ 

• Pride Never Stops Hulu https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/bianca-del-rio-hulu-livestream-pride-marches-1235649130/

• Non-White Paper CSA https://wocunite.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/CSA-WOCU-Non-white-Paper-Sep-13_compressed.pdf

• WOCU Seal https://wocunite.org/wocu-seal/

• Michael Harriot’s Takedown of Nikki Haley https://twitter.com/michaelharriot/status/1672893653008695298

The Women of Color Unite Podcast is produced by Nwabata Nnani and edited by Lauren Bonett. It’s hosted by Cheryl L. Bedford and Manon de Reeper.

If you want to submit questions or responses to any of our episodes - either written or a voice note - you can send them to podcast@wocunite.com. 

Find out more about Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org

Donate to Women of Color Unite: https://wocunite.org/donate

Music by Oh Yeah featuring Nyuta 

Follow us on social media: @wocupodcast, @wocuniteorg @manondereeper and @Cheryl_CLBP.

Recorded with Riverside