WHY ‘BE INCLUSIVE’
WHY ‘BE INCLUSIVE’?
Despite being the largest minority group in the USA, people with a disability are the most underrepresented in the entertainment industry. We intend to change the industry by creating more opportunities for people with disabilities, challenging stereotypes, breaking down barriers and fostering a more inclusive entertainment landscape …
One in four (27%) of American adults, (or 61 million people), have a disability, yet just 2.3% of all speaking characters in the 100 top-grossing films were depicted with a disability
According to the Think Tank for Inclusion & Equity (TTIE) report, (2021), 93% of writers said their most recent writers’ room had no writers with disabilities.
In 2019 it was reported that 88 Oscar winners and nominees have played characters with a disability in the history of the Academy Awards, yet only two were portrayed by actors who had a disability in real life –allowing for a more poignant and authentic performance.
In a recent report it was also revealed that just 3.5% of TV characters had a disability. In 2018, a similar study found that, whilst that number was higher (12%) a majority of the portrayals were negative.
The Writers Guild of America lists disabled writers among its least-represented demographics: Only 0.7 percent of the guild identifies as having a disability
After studying 284 streaming and TV shows, it was found that just 22% of characters with disabilities were portrayed authentically.