wiki: Underrepresentation of Women of Color in the Media in Western Society

The entertainment industry has been around for years and plays an important aspect in everyone's lives. However, the lack of representation of women of color continues to be a struggle. The representation of women of color in television, film, music industry, etc., is lacking and inaccurate. The entertainment industry underrepresents women of color by having stereotypical portrayals, inadequate and misleading representation, and undermining their value in the media. For instance, women of color in television or movies are often exocitised and tend to be less complex. This is a problem because it does not reflect a woman of colors experience in real life. Furthermore, the lack of diversity of women of color as writers and directors is evident. The study conducted by Women in View showed that only 12 of 1637 film contracts funded by Canadian Media were given to Indigenous women. Additionally, women of color are not only far less represented but also face challenges with promotions. In the entertainment workplace, women of color are constantly judged, experience biased behaviors and were likely to encounter microaggressions at higher rates than their white peers .

Lacking representation of women of color in the entertainment media is a feminist issue because it slows advancement for equality. In Canada, women of color should be more accurately be represented to reflect Canada's multiculturalism. A positive and accurate role of women of color in the media is a key role in establishing representation. A good step towards inclusivity is promoting women of color as decision-makers and subjects in the media. The media should also continue to cast diverse groups of women and make women of color known. The industry should further encourage employees to speak up about inequities and challenges they the encounter in the workplace, Representation of women of color in the media greatly affects how a woman of color is treated; therefore, the media needs to strengthen women of color roles such as representing them as intelligent and great leaders in society

Work Cited
Beard, Lucas, et al. “Shattering the Glass Screen.” McKinsey & Company, 14 Feb. 2020, www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/shattering-the-glass-screen.

Brooks, Dwight E. and Hébert Lisa P. “Gender, Race and Media Representation.” Gender and Communication in Mediated Contexts, pp. 297-99, www.corwin.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/11715_Chapter16.pdf

Collie, Meghan. “The Lack of Diversity in Canadian Media Is 'Hard to Ignore' - and the Numbers Prove It.” Global News, 28 May 2019,globalnews.ca/news/5297230/women-of -colour-indigenous-canadian-media-diversity-women-in-view/.

Deck, Jerica. “Why the Fight for Women's Rights Must Include Women of Color.” Global Citizen, 25 Jan. 2019, www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/womens-march-diversity-inclusion/.

LaFrance, Adrienne. “I Analyzed a Year of My Reporting for Gender Bias (Again).” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 18 February 2016, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive
/2016/02/gender-diversity-journalism/463023/.

Vary, Adam B. “Women and People of Color Still Underrepresented Behind the Scenes, Study Says.” Variety, 6 Feb. 2020, variety.com/2020/film/news/diversity-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-
ucla-study-1203494631/.

“New Report Shows Lack of Progress for Women of Color in the Media.” Poynter, 6 March 2018, www.poynter.org/business-work/2018/new-report-shows-lack-of-progress-for- women-of-color
-in-the-media/.

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