Screen Actors Guild Releases Report on Minorities and Women in Television

Posted on December 19, 1998

The Screen Actors Guild, the 95,000 member union representing performers nationwide, today issued a commissioned report showing that prime time and daytime television significantly underrepresented large segments of the United States population, including women, Latino/Hispanics, Asian Pacific Americans, Native American Indians, the disabled and seniors.

The report, titled Casting the American Scene, was authored by Dr. George Gerbner, Bell Atlantic Professor of Telecommunications, Temple University. It follows two earlier studies (1979 and 1994) conducted by Gerbner on behalf of the Guild that found similar results. The current report examined 6,882 characters who appeared in 440 prime time episodes of dramatic programs during 1994-1997. It also analyzed 2,137 characters in 205 episodes on daytime television over the same period.

Among the report's other findings:

Despite slight progress toward more equitable representation, roles for men still outnumber those for women.
Latino/Hispanics are the most underrepresented ethnic group on television. Asian Pacific Americans and Native American Indians are also significantly underrepresented.
Seniors of both genders are greatly underrepresented and seem to be vanishing, instead of increasing as in real life.
African Americans are present in television in numbers generally equivalent to their percentage of the U.S. population.
Women age faster than men, and as they age they become more evil.
Television characters in the 1990s are healthier and wealthier than in the 1980's.
Performers with disabilities still do not play "normal" roles and these performers are seen less often on television than they were in the past.

The Guild today also released its own 1997 casting data, culled from its contracts with production companies signatory to the Guild's Theatrical and Television contracts. The figures, which look at television and film productions, closely track the findings of the report prepared by Gerbner. For instance, SAG's data shows that with one notable exception -- African American men -- minorities, women and seniors continue to be significantly underrepresented in U.S. television and film. The Guild's figures also show that Latino/Hispanics and Asian Pacific Americans are more likely to be cast in supporting roles rather than leads.

"The Screen Actors Guild is dedicated to improving job opportunities for groups that have traditionally been underrepresented on television and in films," explained Guild President Richard Masur. "Part of that effort is educating our industry about the differences between the fictional world created for television and film and the real world audience that watches those fictional creations."

Masur said the amount of roles going to African Americans was encouraging but cautioned against reading too much into the Guild's numbers or the report's findings: "This report tells us a great deal about the overall number of cast members who are of a particular ethnicity or gender and their age. It tells us very little about the types of roles being offered to minority actors or the compensation they receive for their performance."