Hollywood is a place of systematic inequality

Diversity may be the mantra on red carpets and during awards ceremonies these days but inequality in Hollywood is as prevalent as ever, a new report suggests.

The Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication found that female, LGBT, and racially diverse characters are still dramatically underrepresented in major Hollywood films.

None of the lead characters in these movies were members of the LGBT community, and the roles that women did engage tended to be more sexualized than those of their male counterparts

“While the voices calling for change have escalated in number and volume, there is little evidence that this has transformed the movies that we see and the people hired to create them. Our reports demonstrate that the problems are pervasive and systemic,” said Dr. Stacy L. Smith, one of the study’s authors.

The study did propose one solution though. It said that if five female characters were added to each script every year, gender parity on screen could be reached by 2021.