New figures for sexism in Hollywood four days from the Oscars

Hollywood suffers from an "epidemic of invisibility" among ethnic and sexual minorities or among women, according to a new study published Monday February 22 a few days before the 88th Academy Awards, castigated for their lack of diversity. From boardrooms to actors, the movie industry is overwhelmingly white, male, and heterosexual, a University of Southern California (USC) study finds. "It's not just a diversity issue, it's an inclusion crisis," said USC professor and study author Stacy Smith.

The lack of diversity is more marked in cinema than on television, notes the study which reviewed nearly 11,300 characters doing replicas studied in 414 films and television series. The results speak for themselves.

Where are the women?

Only a third of movie characters are women. And often, the professional field of the heroines they embody is very limited. As proof: 89% of nurses and 81% of secretaries on the big screen are women. Just like 57% of teachers and 53% of servers according to the FiveThirtyEight site.

Excess female youthfulness

74% of people over 40 are men... This explains the difficulties claimed by Hollywood actresses over 40 to find work.

The sexy woman in front of the dressed man

The roles are often very stereotyped depending on whether you are an actor or an actress. According to the University of California study, women are more likely than men to be shown in sexy or bare outfits (34.3% vs. 7.6%). According to a previous study, 26.2% of actresses find themselves at least partially naked in a film, while 28.8% wear sexy clothes, about 4 times more than men. The blogger Frédéric Manassein had also closely monitored the clichés conveyed in film trailers: in 92% of cases, the car is driven by a man. And in 70% of cases, the cries of distress are emitted by a woman.

Very rare women behind the camera

Behind the camera, women are very rare: they represent only 15% of directors, 29% of screenwriters and 23% of series creators.

Oscars led by white men

The Academy's board of directors, faced with accusations of systemic racism, has announced that it intends to double the number of directors by 2020 its female or ethnic minority members, which currently stand at 24% and 7% respectively.

(With AFP)

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