A new report this month shows just how much work is left to be done when it comes to Latine representation on screen.
Building on data from their partial 2022 report, The Latino Donor Collaborative released an update to their Latinos in Media Report and cite numbers from Nielsen showing an “alarming decline” in Latine characters and stories represented on screen — as well as behind the camera.
According to the report: “Only 2.6% of lead actors in shows, 1.4% of showrunners, and 1.5% of directors were Latino in 2022, despite Latinos representing 19% of the U.S. population and more than 25% of all American youth. The bottom line is that U.S. Latinos continue to be invisible in shows and films.”
This data was released just as a WGA writers’ strike kicked off May 1st, motivated by the lack of fair pay and shrinking work opportunities just as some studios who make up the AMPTP report increases in net income. At a recent WGA picket line, actor and host Dani Fernandez told Deadline why Latinas like her have a stake in fighting for better working conditions and demanding equal pay.
WHY I’M STRIKING: “As a Latina, we are the least paid, least represented people out here…,” Dani Fernandez, WGA, SAG-AFTRA, tells Deadline outside Universal Studios in LA today #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/g0QhjQISKN
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 8, 2023
You can read the full report from the Latino Donor Collaborative here for more information, and read more about the WGA strike here.