The SAG Awards 2018 Will Have All Female Presenters — But They Still Have a Representation Problem

In this op-ed, Teen Vogue weekend editor De Elizabeth explains why the symbolic gesture of all-female presenters at the SAG Awards isn't enough to fix Hollywood's representation problem.

The 2018 SAG Awards made headlines days before the ceremony even took place, by announcing that its January 21 ceremony would only feature female presenters, in an effort to promote visibility. SAG Awards executive producer Kathy Connell explained to The Hollywood Reporter that this decision is aimed to reflect the trend of women coming forward about sexual harassment in Hollywood. "Beginning with the Women’s March in January, it’s been the year of the woman," Connell said. "This is a unifying salute to women who have been very brave and speaking up."

However, Connell notes, just because only women will be presenting awards doesn't mean that men won't be on the stage at all. Male actors who win for their performances will come forward to accept their award and give speeches. "We don’t want to slight the men who have given great performances this year — knowing our membership, I’m sure our men will embrace the opportunity to honor women," she added.

But this gesture, while striking in its symbolism, is not the only answer to a larger, systemic representation problem throughout Hollywood: that white men are still the vast majority of nominees at awards shows like these, and therefore, a powerful force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. Removing men from the stage amplifies women's voices for a moment, yes, but men also need to take part in this cultural moment; true progress will not happen unless everyone works together. And white male participation in the conversation has been abysmal — a sentiment that became clear after men sported Time's Up pins at the Golden Globes but didn't talk enough about the systemic nature of sexual violence within Hollywood.

That silence is in direct conflict with the fact that Hollywood is still a place where men are doing the majority of the storytelling. And while putting women on stage for one night creates media buzz and a temporary feeling of empowerment, the real work for female visibility remains to be done within the industry itself. Just a few weeks ago, the 2018 Golden Globes faced a similar disconnect. While this year's ceremony featured an array of celebrities dressed in black to protest sexual harassment in Hollywood, and several speeches touched on this important cultural moment, there was a noticeable imbalance when it came to the nominees, especially those behind the camera.

It's one thing to bring women up on stage to hand out awards; it's quite another to create opportunities for them to receive awards in general. While the SAGs focus on awards for acting, the lack of representation both in front of and behind the camera are linked: A recent report from the University of Southern California showed that, out of the 1,100 top films from 2007 to 2017, only 4% of the directors were female. This translates directly to on-screen representation, too, as a 2015 study found that TV shows created by women featured more female characters than shows by men. To really create a tangible power shift in Hollywood — one where everyone is listened to — we need to see more women behind the camera, and a wider range of representation in front of it.

But this is also an issue that extends beyond just women in Hollywood. It shouldn't go unnoticed that the majority of the SAG Award nominees are white, despite POC actors being the ones having to disproportionately address Hollywood's "diversity problem." Some categories — like Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries — consist of all white nominees, while others only include one or two performers of color. And the female categories aren't any better; Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries, and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series are all fully comprised of white women.

And while television has generally done a better job of giving audiences more inclusive stories (Orange is the New Black, for example, continuously earns accolades and offers a wide range of representation), the TV industry still has a long way to go as well. According to the "2017 Hollywood Diversity Report," released by the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA, "minority actors" only have the lead roles in 11.4% of broadcast scripted television shows. And while that stat represents an increase from the previous year, it's not even close to being equal.

Furthermore, a 2017 study conducted by GLAAD revealed that, of 901 characters on broadcast television shows, only a little over 6% of them identify as LGBTQ. And while cable and streaming shows are more inclusive, the majority of LGBTQ characters in general are male and white. "The LGBTQ characters who make it to TV screens tend to be white gay men, who outnumber all other parts of our community in representation on screen," GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis explained, adding that the need for intersectionality is crucial: "In actuality, the population of the U.S. counts more women than men, and bisexual people make up the majority of the LGBTQ community. It’s long past time for television to introduce more diverse LGBTQ characters on multiple levels."

Representation matters for a host of reasons. Inclusivity on screen allows audience members to see themselves in storytelling, and it's also important for those doing the storytelling to represent the identities they are amplifying. And viewers want inclusive stories — the proof is in the numbers. For example, Hidden Figures became the highest grossing 2017 Oscar nominee, and Get Out — which has earned nods in this year's awards cycle — topped $150 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing debut for a feature-length film that's based on an original screenplay.

The bottom line is that Hollywood has a representation problem — and a power problem. And while symbolic gestures are nice, they aren't the only answer, and they're not really a solution at all. In this case, removing men from the stage won't really do anything in the long-term besides giving women the microphone for one night — while simultaneously absolving them from taking part in an important conversation. Putting women front and center to hand out an award — or dressing in black, or taking an activist as a guest on the red carpet — is certainly a step in the right direction. But after the ceremony is over, much more work remains to be done.

Related: Golden Globes 2018 Points to Hollywood's Lack of Inclusion for Women Behind the Scenes