”I had to make headlines exiting the Academy for conversations on my work to begin and that’s concerning,“ Jeanell English, one of four DEI execs who left their posts recently, tells
While the circumstances of each executive may differ, more than a half dozen interviews by across the DEI community suggest that Hollywood’s institutions have thus far failed to make inclusion part of the industry’s DNA, that DEI executives feel isolated and exhausted, saying they were “set up to fail” or citing a lack of sufficient resources. Some said the fact that DEI executives no longer report to CEOs sends a signal of diminished commitment.
“We need to be at a point where we are operationalizing inclusion, and that comes with creating real responsibility for this work in all levels of the organization in all positions in some capacity,” Jeannell English, who stepped down as Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ EVP of impact and inclusion, told exclusively.
She observed: “I find it interesting that I had to make headlines exiting the Academy for conversations on my work to begin and that’s concerning.”
English, who was Disney’s chief diversity officer and senior vice president Latondra Newton at the time of her departure in June became the fourth high-ranking diversity executive to quit within a 10 day period. Her departure was preceded by Disney’s chief diversity officer and senior vice president Latondra Newton, Netflix’s head of inclusion and strategy Vernā Myers, and WBD’s SVP of diversity, equity and inclusion Karen Horne.
Other executives that left either refused to comment for this article, or were not able to be reached. After their departures, Disney is searching for Newton’s replacement; Netflix promoted inclusion strategy VP Wade Davis into Myers’ role; WBD won’t be replacing Horne as the department has been restructured; and after English’s resignation, AMPAS promoted Kendra Carter to SVP of impact and global talent development.
Disney, however, pointed out their website as a source of information. Online diversity and inclusion Mission Statement. AMPAS, meanwhile, has pledged since to increase the representation of disability amongst department heads.
Why now? Hollywood felt increased pressure to prove profitability as stocks dropped last year. In response, the industry cut budgets and laid off workers. Netflix and major studio streamers had their free passes revoked — no longer were they getting credit for spending billions of dollars with just big content libraries and increased subscriber numbers to show for it. The bottom line is also important. Despite some firms’ stock prices recovering marginally in the first six months of 2018, POC-led material has been affected and diversity inclusion has taken a backseat.
The timing of these four DEI executive departures may signal a widespread industry abandonment of diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives launched after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. At the time, several Hollywood companies — including Netflix, Disney You can also find out more about the following: ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) — made public statements denouncing racism and coupled them with million-dollar donations and promises to create more racial and gender-inclusive programming as well as new hiring pipelines and employee training.
As with all industries, Many businesses are beginning to withdraw. from those commitments — either as priorities shift or financial pressures demand cutbacks. By May 2022 Netflix has cut nearly the entire staff at its Tudum websiteIt was mostly staffed by Black women, Latinas and Asians. David Zaslav became the head of Warner Bros. in August. Discovery was criticised for his alleged sexism. Insufficiency of diversity He was criticized for his lack of leadership and the disproportionately large number Non-white employeesThe first in a series of mass layoffs.
The impact of the four Black executives’ exit is being felt outside of Hollywood: On Thursday, the California Legislative Black Caucus, which is comprised of members of the state’s Black lawmakers, called on Hollywood studios to address this “?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????.”
Even as Hollywood struggles with a strike, there is concern within the industry.
“I think a lot of people had no strategic plan beyond 2020 when George Floyd happened,” DEI consultant Kristen Marston, who served as an advisor on Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us,” told . “A lot of things are tied to the news cycle, unfortunately. It’s OK to lean into those moments in powerful ways, but it’s not OK to use those moments as leverage for PR.”
AMPAS, which has vastly increased its membership of women and racially diverse members in the past five years, was thrown off guard by the criticism, issuing a statement: “We want to reiterate, in the strongest possible terms, the Academy’s commitment to not only continuing, but expanding our efforts to promote diversity and inclusion within our organization and the film industry at large.”
English isn’t the only black executive to have left the organization. Other departures since July 2022 have included COO Christine Simmons, Vice President, Global Relations and Member Outreach Patrick Harrison, and. Most recentlyShawn Finnie, Executive Vice President of Member Relations, Global Outreach and Awards.
In April Meredith Shea was named the Academy’s first chief membership, impact and industry officer, tasked with bringing together the Academy teams for new-member cultivation and outreach along with many other areas — becoming English’s new boss.
English told that taking a look at the role of a DEI leader, their responsibilities and how a company is supporting that position could point to a more viable solution to Hollywood’s longstanding challenges with progressing and maintaining DEI efforts.
“I think it’s important for us to not be reaching for a trend here in terms of our departure, but questioning, is this model of a chief diversity officer really what’s needed to progress the industry,” English said. “If that consensus is, ‘Yes, we value these roles, we see these roles, we want these roles to continue to exist and to thrive’ — how are we supporting them? Before these individuals leave, before they hit that point of burnout, exhaustion or fatigue.”
“I’ve heard leaders say they were set up to fail and not given the proper respect or resources to really do the job that they were hired for,” Marston said. “And if people who want to do good aren’t protected, we’re going to continue to lose valuable employees who are really trying to make a difference.”
Documentation of the increasing burnout in DEI executives has been published. McLean & Company’s 2023 HR Trends ReportThe study was published in February. The study revealed that the tenure of chief diversity officers has declined from 3 years to under 2 years, and listings of DEI jobs have dropped 19% by 2022. According to the McClean Report, 59% of DEI staff cited lack of time for their work. 43% blamed insufficient funding and resources. And 29% said they were not supported by leadership.
Farah, a psychotherapist licensed in the state of California and the CEO at WorkingWell DailyThe article highlighted the difficulty of a person who is of color in carrying out the role of diversity leader within a business while having to deal with instances of racism. Racism and discrimination at work Lack of support.
“It’s hard to be the advocate and the abused,” Harris said. “Many of those who work in DEI are also members of marginalized communities. They are exhausted by having to make a case for their — and others’ — existence and experience. They must fight the idea that DEI, and people’s lived experiences are political issues and not human rights. And they are also burned out by the lack of buy-in and support from senior leadership.”
In an interview with , Color of Change president Rashad Robinson added that Hollywood’s DEI meltdown may also be due to businesses not being fully prepared for the type of work it actually takes to make change in the name of diversity, equity and inclusion.
“I think a lot of these folks got into it thinking they would be able to make some quicker wins than they’d actually be able to achieve,” Robinson told . “It takes much longer and it’s more challenging. It is often the case that this happens. [companies] Business models must be redesigned to have the desired impact. The business models of some companies are not as effective as they claim to be. [those things] runs up against the ways in which their business has always functioned, and they’ve chosen the business over the diversity and over the equity.”
English said the key to implementing DEI-centered change requires a custom approach tailored to each company’s needs. “Once you actually understand what you’re trying to solve for, you should be hiring a ‘diversity’ role that can solve that. There’s not one universal position that exists. This position must be customized to fit the needs of your organization. If you’re looking at your slate of films or TV shows and they tend to skew or focus only on one specific community, is the diversity role a chief diversity officer? Or is it ingrained in your business operations in a different way?”
She added, “We need to be at a point where we are operationalizing inclusion, and that comes with creating real responsibility for this work in all levels of the organization in all positions in some capacity. That’s the only way you’re going to be able to distribute the work equitably amongst an organization.”
One studio appears to have maintained a successful focus on inclusion. An NBCU insider said the studio was succeeding because they’ve been at it longer. “Everyone was doing the corporate lean-in in 2020 because of George Floyd. But NBCU had been doing the lean-in for years,” the insider told , referring to programs like NBCU’s partnership with the American Black Film Festival The following are some examples of how to use The first inauguration of the Atelier began in 1997. HBO also participates in the ABFF Partnership.
The insider stressed that a direct reporting structure at NBCU is “key” to their approach to DEI, as opposed to the previous studio where the individual worked, which had multiple layers between the DEI head and the chairman. “It is a night and day difference… to have a direct lean-in.”
For example, Universal’s Janine Jones-Clark, EVP of inclusion, reports directly to chief content officer Donna Langley; Craig Robinson, NBCU’s EVP and chief diversity officer, reports to the division’s acting head and Comcast president, Mike Cavanagh; and NBCU News Group’s EVP of DEI, Yvette Miley, reports to division chairman, Cesar Conde.
This person added, “When you work in this space, you need support, you need buy-in from creatives and executives. It’s best that you’re associated with the business rather than HR, because there’s a perception that in HR you’re [only] checking a box.”
Disney, Netflix, WBD and the Academy still have DEI executives — some of which are part of their HR departments. Those companies stress they’re still dedicated to continuing diversity and inclusion efforts.
Sharon Waxman is the author of this article.
