Research: Personal Project

Racial Diversity:
A research conducted by Lake Sonsil Snell Perry and Motivational Educational Entertainment
(MEE) surveyed 1,200 children, 300 of White, Black, Asian, and Latino descent respectively, to find
correlations between the media and the effect it has on their perception of how their races are represented.
One piece of data shows that the children associated more positive traits to White characters rather than
minority characters, with being well educated associated with White characters by 44 people, while 10
associated this with minority characters, 40 with both. This is the opposite when the survey group was
asked about which group they associate negative traits with, and minority characters were more often
linked with traits such as breaking the law or rules, with 47 votes as opposed to 6 votes for White
characters. Additionally, the children who participated in the survey believed that there were not enough
characters on television to represent the non-White population. The children believed that it was
important that their racial identity is represented in the media, moreso the Black, Latinx, and Asian
children. Some children explained this belief as Because you want to think I could do that. I could be
there. That could be me in five or six years. and that If more [people of my race] were on television ,
the more respect [they] would get in general. 84% of children believed that representation is important in
media as it tells children that people of their race is important. Connecting these data together, it can be
concluded that there are not enough characters in media to provide a sense of inclusion and inspiration to
those who are not often represented. This has a significant impact on the perception of the children on
themselves, and of others, as it directly influences their attitude toward various racial groups, as seen from
how more positive traits are associated with a certain group, and an effect on their aspirations for their
future, as the media could show them relatable role models that show their success.
Additionally, in a study by the Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg, the
number of ethnically underrepresented characters in a show was compared to the US Census percentage
of underrepresented ethnic groups. If the percentage of underrepresented characters was within 10% of
the actual percentage as compared to the ethnic minorities in the U.S., 37.9%, a show is considered to be
ethnically balanced. Only 12% of shows out of the evaluated 414 featured a balanced cast. Around half of
media platforms fail to have Black or Asian Speaking characters, for example is film, 50% of 109
evaluated films had this lack. Only 26.6% of regular casts of a series are unrepresented characters, which
is 11.3% below the percentage of ethnic minorities in the US. According to the MPAA report in 2015,
71% of total box office was from the international box office, which is the reason why statistics from the
U.S. is relevant. More and more countries outside of the U.S. are consuming its media, which would have
a similar yet unique impact on its population. Combined with the other study, these statistics would show
that despite its profound effect on people, it is a reality that not enough underrepresented actors are given
a chance to or casted for roles in the media.

Gender:

According to the Annenberg Report, only 28.7% of speaking roles in films are female, as well as
36.4% in broadcast, 37.3% in cable, and 38.1% in streaming. Leading roles in films were largely occupied
by males, with 73.5% the percentage. The percentage of female population in the world is 49.549 % in
2015, according to the United Nations Population Divisions World Population Prospects, therefore there
is a major gap in representation between the genders. Within the underrepresentation is the issue that
females are most often not portrayed as workers of the same fields as males are. The Gender Roles &
Occupations Report by Smith, Choueiti, Prescott, and Pieper (2012) shows that among the 58 executives
portrayed in the selected media, two females were within the sector, compared to the 25.5% of top
executives in 2010. Additionally, 83.8% of STEM jobs were shown to be occupied by males compared to
the 16.3% of females in the STEM field.

This could have a profound effect on younger girls viewing the movies, TV shows etc., as
many characters whose struggles and characteristics are explored are males. Although anyone
should be able to identify with any character regardless of gender, there are different experiences
that may be more specific to females, and also it may be easier to identify with a character of the
same gender. Additionally, the lack of female characters in STEM could potentially discourage
girls from pursuing careers in those fields, as it may seem uncommon or unheard of for a woman
to join such a workplace.