Systemic Racism

Why we need to tackle racial inequality in TV and film

image of a camera man filming

More Black talent is needed across the film and TV industry. Image: Unsplash/Steven Van

Sheldon Lyn
Partner, McKinsey & Company
Jonathan Dunn
Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
Nony Onyeador
Consultant, McKinsey & Company
Ammanuel Zegeye
Partner, McKinsey & Company
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Systemic Racism

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a diagram showing how black talent is under-represented in film, particularly off screen
Statistics how underrepresented Black people are in film. Image: Mckinsey & Company
a chart showing that Black off-screen talent is primarily responsible for creating opportunities for other Black off-screen talent
More Black, off-screen talent is needed. Image: Mckinsey & Company
a chart showing how the film and TV industry remains disproportionately white
More black representation is needed in the film and TV industry. Image: Mckinsey & Company
a chart showing that although there is mixed progress, Black and minority team leads are still underrepresented in TV across platforms
Greater Black and minority representation is needed in leading TV roles. Image: Mckinsey & Company
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a chart showing that the lived experience of Black talent along the film and TV content journey reveals an ecosystem that reinforces the status quo
These are the barriers which stand in the way of Black talent being under-represented. Image: Mckinsey & Company
a graph showing that white actors have more opportunities for lead roles early in their careers than Black actors do - and the gap only widens over time
More Black actors need leading roles earlier on in their careers to close the gap. Image: Mckinsey & Company
a diagram showing that Black talent is twice as likely to be funnelled to race-related films, which are the least funded
Black actors should be given the opportunity to take on a more diverse range of roles. Image: Mckinsey & Company
a chart showing that films with Black off-screen talent have smaller budgets despite higher earnings per dollar of budget
Films with off-screen Black talent need to be provided with larger budgets to close the gap. Image: Mckinsey & Company
graphs showing that Black talent is largely susceptible to market shocks and has been largely stagnant over the last 20 years
Evidence shows that market shocks have decreased the amount of Black talent. Image: Mckinsey & Company
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