Since June 2023, six Black female executives who held key roles at major Hollywood studios have left their positions. Some of the women oversee DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) departments, allowing them to directly influence hiring practices and attracting qualified people who otherwise wouldn’t get a chance in white, male-dominated workplaces. They could have opened their doors to black women.
The exodus also includes Karen Horn, who led DEI efforts at Warner Bros. Discovery. Jeanelle English, vice president of impact and inclusion at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Verna Myers, Head of Inclusion at Netflix. Latandra Newton, Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Vice President, Disney; Warner Bros. Worldwide, her Vice President of Marketing, Tera Potts, and BBC Creative, her Director of Diversity, Joanna Abbey. Several other BIPOC executives are also expected to lose their jobs in the near future, according to officials.
Following these recent exits, many are accusing Hollywood studios of not giving black women equal opportunities to change their roles. The mass loss of these skilled Black professionals stands in stark contrast to major companies that have promised more diversity, hiring women of color, and other DEI-related matters.
In an interview with NBC News, Rayhan Ayas, an economist at the Reverio Institute, argued that many of the DEI positions sparked by the killing of George Floyd won’t last long.
“I always say it’s so easy to make statements and promises in public, because ultimately no one checks whether you’re serious about what you promise. Because we don’t,” Ayas said.
“The reason I can say, ‘I’m going to be vegan by 2025,’ is because in 2025 no one is going to call me and ask me if I’m really vegan. And… That’s actually what’s happening here. In 2020, many companies made big promises and big statements about their DEI roles and goals. And we’ve seen that shift. “So I think it’s very timely to actually investigate companies to see if they’re adhering to the big statements they’ve made,” she continued.
by 2022 Women’s Activities Report According to McKinsey & Company, only one in four executive leaders are women, and only one in 20 (5%) are women of color.
Many also argue that this exodus of black female executives in Hollywood is correlated with the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action and its future impact on black women in the workforce. ing.
One anonymous former executive claims the report is consistent with the experiences of black women in management positions.
“Black women are not allowed to be difficult, vulnerable, weak, and defiant. “We have to continually examine empty gestures about whether the issue is being resolved. It’s very tiring, it’s really tiring,” the former executive said.
