Does your favorite television show represent you well?

The Nielsen report of 12/02/2020, Being Seen on Screen: Diverse Representation and Inclusion on TV, which measures the time on screen instead of simply counting the number of diverse actors/actresses who appear on screen, shows that women, who make up about 52% of the U.S. population are on screen 38% of the time. This suggests underrepresentation.

The report shows that the biggest disparities among women on screen are in the area of ageism (50+ years old) and ethnicity with both Hispanic/Latinos, and Native Americans being least represented. An example given, “Hispanics make up 18.8% of the population, [but] only account for 5.5% of… [screen time]”. If we examine ageism and compare men versus women, we find that men have “almost 2x the representation of women across all viewing platforms…”. https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/report/2020/being-seen-on-screen-diverse-representation-and-inclusion-on-tv/ .

Additionally, the Nielsen report asserts “…the first step to creating an inclusive society is for people to feel seen and be seen. The …experiences shared on screen help people feel empowered and learn about those who are different [than themselves]”. They suggest that media should “give voice to underrepresented groups and help society move towards a more inclusive future.”

Perhaps that’s why Entertainment Weekly thought that African-American actress, Jackée Harry (age 64), joining the cast of long-running NBC daytime soap opera, Days of Our Lives is newsworthy. Even though, Jackée believes that NBC has “been at the forefront of hiring minorities [and that] they have a lot of diversity on [the show].” https://ew.com/tv/jackee-harry-days-of-our-lives/ .

What do you think? Is this a societal dynamic that we should explore? Visit us at: www.diversehumanitysolutions.com