Race- and gender-based under-representation of creative contributors: art, fashion, film, and music

Abstract

Motivated by the well-established benefits to society of artistic creation and of demographic diversity, we investigate the gender and racial/ethnic composition of influential contributors to four creative domains. Women make up 51% of the U.S. population but are underrepresented at influential levels of contemporary art (28%), high fashion (45%), box office film (27%), and popular music (17%). Marginalized racial/ethnic groups make up 39% of the U.S. population yet comprise approximately half that figure in contemporary art (22%), high fashion (22%), and box office film (19%). Black musical artists have higher representation (48%), though higher representation does not equate with equity and inclusion. As for intersecting identities, white men are overrepresented in all four domains by factors ranging from 1.4 to 2 as compared to the U.S. population, and most other gender-racial/ethnic groups are further minoritized. Our study is the first comprehensive, comparative, empirical look at intersecting identities across creative fields. The exclusion of marginalized individuals, including those who are women, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Latinx, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, is severe. The lack of self-expressed demographic data is a challenge, as is the erasure of certain identity groups from the American Community Survey, including agender, gender noncomforming, nonbinary, and transgender individuals. These are challenges that, if addressed, would enhance our collective understanding of diversity in creative fields.

Keywords: Cultural and media studies; Sociology.

Fig. 1. Socially inferred gender across four creative domains and sex data from the American Community Survey (ACS) (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019).

As compared to the ACS, women are underrepresented in each domain. Note: AGNN agender, gender nonconforming, or nonbinary. See Table 1 for numerical data.

Fig. 2. Socially inferred race/ethnicity across four creative domains and as derived from American Community Survey (ACS) data (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019).

As compared to the ACS, marginalized racial/ethnic groups are underrepresented in most domains. Note: AIAN American Indian/Alaska Native, NHPI Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Not Listed an identity not captured by the other choices. See Table 1 for numerical data.

Fig. 3. Socially inferred intersecting gender-ethnicity within each creative domain, where each light gray rectangle represents proportion within the domain.

Art is dominated by individuals inferred to be white men, fashion by white men and women, film by white men, and music by black and white men. For readability, groups with small proportions are not labeled, but Table 1 provides the numerical data.

Fig. 4. Socially inferred intersecting gender and ethnicity data compared across domains and to American Community Survey (ACS) data (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019).

At each categorical intersection point, the black bubble represents the share of that identity group within the U.S. population, and the colored bubbles represent the shares within each creative domain. See Table 1 for numerical data. Note: AGNN agender, gender nonconforming, or nonbinary, AIAN American Indian/Alaska Native, NHPI Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Not Listed an identity not captured by the other choices.