#Annenberg Inclusion Initiative
Dr. Stacy L. Smith & the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Launch Website Exploring Oscar History
Dr. Stacy L Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative have launched The Inclusion List, a new initiative that showcases inclusion in entertainment. “Who says hashtag activism can’t create...
Research: Inclusion Initiative Finds “Hiring Women of Color Was the Exception, Not the Rule” in 2022
“The pace of change has been slow for women directors,” a new report from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative concludes. Titled “Inclusion in the...
Muslim Characters Are Erased & Stereotyped in Popular TV, According to Inclusion Initiative Study
Last year, Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative released a study outlining the inadequate representation the Muslim community has received in popular film in recent years....
Inclusion Initiative: Little Growth for Women Musical Artists in Last Decade But WOC Saw Spike in 2021
H.E.R., Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Doja Cat are among the most-nominated artists at this Sunday’s Grammy Awards. But in the music industry overall, women artists are severely...
Number of Women & POC Leads/Co-Leads Held Steady in Top Films of 2021, According to New Research
The good news: judging from last year’s box office reports, the number of female and people of color leads/co-leads in popular films hasn’t really decreased during the pandemic. The bad...
There Is a Pronounced Gender Gap in Top Films’ VFX, Inclusion Initiative/WIA Study Finds
It’s no secret that women are underrepresented as speaking characters, directors, screenwriters, and producers in Hollywood’s highest-earning films. But a new study from Dr. Stacy L....
Rebecca Sugar and USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Among WIA Diversity Award Winners
The winners of the fifth annual Women in Animation Diversity Awards are “Steven Universe” creator Rebecca Sugar, the short film “All Those Sensations in My Belly,” and the USC...
Inclusion Initiative: Latinas Comprised Only 1.9% of Leads/Co-Leads Across 2007-2019’s Top 1,300 Films
The latest report from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has found that, despite making up about 20 percent of the U.S. population, the Hispanic/Latinx community “remains almost invisible...
Muslim Characters Are “Missing and Maligned” in Popular Global Movies, Study Finds
The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has released its first-ever study on Muslim representation. Dr. Stacy L. Smith and Co. investigated the prevalence and portrayals of Muslim characters across...
Study: The Number of Female Speaking Characters in Top Films Hasn’t “Meaningfully Increased Since 2007”
Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative have released their latest study, “Inequality in 1,300 Popular Films: Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, LGBTQ &...
Study: Films Led by People of Color Tend to Out Earn Those with White Leads
A new report from USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative and ReFrame concludes — yet again — that diversity sells. “The Ticket to Inclusion” analyzed the economic...
Women and POC Hit New Highs as Leads/Co-Leads in 2019’s Top Films, Study Finds
The Oscars and BAFTAs are still #SoWhite, but show business seems to be upping its on-screen inclusivity as of late. A new research brief from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that...
Research: More WOC Festival Programmers Means More WOC Directors Screening Films
We’re smack dab in the middle of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where 46 percent of competition directors are women and 38 percent are people of color. Given that Sundance is ongoing and that...
Women of Color Led or Co-Led 11 of 2018’s Top 100 Films, According to New Research
As we’re all well aware, women are very much underrepresented on the big screen. However, according to new research from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, there is...
Latina Characters Missing from 70 of 2018’s Top 100 Films, Study Finds
New research from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative — in partnership with the National Association of Latino Independent Producers and Wise Entertainment — has...
Study: Just Four Women Among Directors of the Top Animated Films 2007-2018
The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative presented its latest research today at the Women in Animation World Summit, held as part of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The report,...
Cannes: Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s Stacy L. Smith Partners with Women in Motion
Annenberg Inclusion Initiative founder and director Stacy L. Smith is joining forces with Women in Motion, Kering and the Cannes Film Festival’s program spotlighting women in film. According...
Research: 2018 Marked Major Improvement for On-Screen Inclusion in Top Films
Finally, some encouraging stats for women and people of color in film. After concluding, in an earlier 2019 report, that the number of women directors hadn’t budged in 12 years, Dr. Stacy L....
4% Challenge: Inclusion Initiative & Time’s Up Aim to Boost Number of Women Directing Top Films
Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington, Brie Larson, Constance Wu, and many more have publicly vowed to announce a project with a woman director in the next 18 months. They’ve signed on to the 4%...
Report: Black Male Directors Made Major Gains in 2018, Number of Women Plateaued Again
The good news: The number of black directors working on top-grossing films reached a 12-year high in 2018. Sixteen black helmers, including “Black Panther’s” Ryan Coogler and...
Study: Women Wrote Only 21% of Reviews on 2015-17’s Top Films, POC Just 17%
A new study from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative shows that, unfortunately, the severe underrepresentation of women critics and critics of color found in...
Research: Hollywood Inclusion “Remains Unchanged”
“The rhetoric in Hollywood may be changing when it comes to inclusion, but the numbers are not,” according to a press release announcing the findings of a new study. The report hails...