American actress Eva Longoria has said that “Latinos and women are still severely under-represented” in Hollywood.
The Desperate Housewives star, 49, said it is “often the perception” that Hollywood is “pretty progressive” but added she found this was not always the case.
Speaking to The Guardian, she said: “We still have so far to go. Both Latinos and women are still severely under-represented.
“Statistically, we’re actually going in the wrong direction.
“In the US, Latinos are 20% of the population but 5% in TV and film.
“Yet we’re the biggest ticket-buyers at the movies and one of the biggest TV audiences.
“We’ve got to work on the disparity between who’s consuming the content and who’s creating it.
“There is no greater influence than media. Before you get policy change or societal change, you have to change the culture.
“The easiest way to win hearts and minds is through storytelling.
“Often the perception is that Hollywood’s pretty progressive and doing great when it comes to diversity. I’m like: ‘Hmm, not really!’”
The US Census Bureau estimated the Hispanic population at 63.7 million in July 2022, making it the nation’s largest racial or ethnic minority at 19.1% of the total population.
There is some crossover because the Hispanic category usually refers to people who speak Spanish or are descended from Spanish-speaking populations, while Latino refers to people from Latin America or their descendants, who may be Portuguese or French speakers.
A report published in March from management consulting company McKinsey & Company said Latinos hold less than 5% of leading on-screen, off-screen, and executive leadership roles in US media.
Elsewhere, the Motion Picture Association’s 2021 Theme Report, providing an analysis of the home entertainment market, said the Hispanic/Latino category was over-represented in the share of moviegoers that year at 24%, and in movie tickets purchased at 23%.
Longoria, who stars in Spanish and English-language comedy thriller series Land Of Women, also discussed whether women over the age of 40 in Hollywood have an “expiration date”.
She said: “It’s unfortunate that we have an expiration date as women in this world but personally, I’m the busiest I’ve ever been.
“I remember talking to Salma Hayek too and she said: ‘My career took off at 50.’
“Meryl Streep says she feels like her career started at 40.
“I think there’s a lot more opportunity for women of a certain age now.
“Women who have more to say and more lived experience have more to bring to the table.”
Longoria, who has starred in sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Unplugging (2022), is also the godmother of David and Victoria Beckham’s daughter Harper and described herself as a “crazy aunt” who “spoils her and supports her in anything she wants to do.”
