Yahoo News Television Academy Reports 75 Percent of Its Membership Is White
Nearly 75 percent (74.9 percent, to be precise) of the Television Academy’s membership is white — or at least the two-thirds (67.4 percent) of its 20,583 members who responded to the organization’s call to update their demographic information in the online database.
The data collection is part of the Academy’s ongoing efforts to work on its diversity, equity and inclusion — and now, accessibility as well. The organization behind the Emmy Awards said that the metrics in its second annual transparency report (the first was released in late 2021) “will be used as a benchmark for tracking the expansive diversity of its membership body year over year.”
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Working with DEI consultancy ReadySet, the Academy also included intersectional analyses of its demographics. In terms of gender (which had a 79.4 percent response rate), 54.3 percent of respondents are men, 78.9 percent of whom are white. White women comprise 70.8 percent of all female members, but nonbinary members as well as those who identify as other genders (0.5 percent of respondents) are the most racially diverse at 55.7 percent white. Just under a quarter of members (23.5 percent) disclosed their sexual orientation, and among them, 78.9 percent identify as straight. More women respondents (85.6 percent) identify as straight compared to men (75.2 percent).
The 25-40 and 41-55 age brackets — its two biggest constituencies by age — are also its relatively most racially diverse (66.5 percent and 68.8 percent white, respectively). The study also noted that the respondent size in some subgroups — such as members aged 18-24 (1 percent of respondents), members with disabilities (2.4 percent) and military veterans (12.3 percent) — are too small to be representative of the full membership, or to be analyzed without breaking confidentiality.
“This report allows us to annually evaluate representation within our organization, advance our initiatives and outreach and measure our improvements,” Television Academy chair and CEO Frank Scherma said in a statement. “We continue to believe we have an important role to play in leading industry change.”
In addition to the demographic data, the report also provides an update to the DEIA initiatives it initially proposed in 2021, as well as a revision of the Television Academy’s mission statement, which now reads: “The Television Academy is dedicated to celebrating excellence, innovation and the advancement of the telecommunications arts and sciences through recognition, education and leadership, while fostering a diverse, inclusive and accessible professional community, building a lasting impact on creative generations to come.”
Its eight commitments include monthly meetings of its DEIA task force, hiring of DEIA-focused senior staff, reviewing the composition of its executive committees (which resulted in a revision of the bylaws for the 2023 Governor Elections) and DEIA training for all governors and other leaders. The Academy’s DEIA priorities for 2023 include developing more opportunities for member involvement via affinity groups, creating a more accessible communications system between members and leadership and biannual in-person inclusion summits at its North Hollywood campus.
“The Television Academy has demonstrated its commitment to leadership by sharing information about members’ experiences, their own challenges and the organizational changes they have enacted to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility internally and within the industry at large,” ReadySet CEO and founder Y-Vonne Hutchinson said in a statement. “The Academy’s long-term vision remains unchanged. This report is evidence of its commitment, and the latest of many steps the Academy is taking on the path to reaching their ambitious goals.”
