On October 18th, 2021, the Geena Davis Institute held the Virtual Global Symposium 2021 – Looking Back and Moving Forward: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in TV in partnership with Nielsen, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. GDI presented its latest research study, insights and tools on evaluating diversity, equity and inclusion for onscreen representation in popular television from 2016 to 2020. Panelists included global leaders in the industry who examined the progress that has been made over this time and what more needs to be done to achieve more diversity in television.
Event Highlights:
The virtual symposium commenced with Geena Davis introducing GDI's most recent study and tool, the Geena Davis Inclusion Quotient (GDIQ), developed in partnership with Dr. Shri Narayanan and his team at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Following Geena's introduction, Dr. Ninochka McTaggart presented the research study, See Jane 2021: Looking Back and Moving Forward: The State of Representation in Popular Television from 2016 to 2020. During her presentation, she explained the study's main findings, including areas in which significant strides have been made in terms of diversity in television, but also the challenges that remain. Furthermore, Dr. McTaggart delved into the impact of COVID-19 on media production and diversity, as well as the current reality and future goals of inclusive representation.
Dr. McTaggart was followed by a wide range of panelists from different entertainment and media fields who spoke about the study's results from the study, and diversity in television with a view towards the future. A recurring theme of the symposium was that in order to foster a global culture that reflects the diversity of its audience, media representation must evolve to include all societal segments. The symposium, the report and the GDIQ tool should be seen as as calls to action for the industry to embrace and reflect the true diversity of our global community.
Key points included:
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