UCLA Report Finds Streaming Originals Losing Diversity Amid Trump-Era DEI Rollbacks
The UCLA Institute for Entertainment and Media Research Initiative released the second part of its annual Hollywood Diversity Report on Wednesday, revealing a sharp decline in representation within 2025 streaming‑original films. The study, which examined 89 English‑language titles from Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu, shows that the share of women and people of color in leading roles and key creative positions has fallen, a trend that experts warn could worsen under President Donald Trump’s current administration.
The report’s data are striking: BIPOC actors in lead roles dropped to 36 % from 51 % in 2024, while BIPOC directors fell to 31.5 % from 41 % and BIPOC writers fell to 21.3 % from 30 %. Women in lead roles decreased to 58 % from 61 %, and women directors fell to 23.6 % from 28 %, though the share of women writers remained roughly flat at 37 %. These figures come against a backdrop in which streaming now powers nearly half of U.S. television consumption—Nielsen’s March 2025 data show streaming accounts for about 48 % of all TV viewing, compared with 20 % for broadcast and 21 % for cable. In 2025, 96.4 million U.S. households had a TV connected to a streaming device or service.
UCLA co‑author Ana‑Christina Ramón told Bloomberg that the decline is likely to continue. She noted that many of the 2025 titles were already in development before Trump returned to office, but the administration’s early wave of conservative backlash against DEI initiatives may be influencing production decisions. Trump’s first executive order of the second term—Executive Order 14151—called for an end to “radical and wasteful” DEI programs in the federal government, and a second order the next day targeted DEI programs among federal contractors and the private sector. Earlier in the year, Trump signed an order directing federal contractors and subcontractors not to engage in “racially discriminatory DEI activities.”
The Federal Communications Commission, chaired by Brendan Carr, has also signaled that a company’s merger plans could face scrutiny over its DEI practices. In response, several media companies, including Disney, have rethought or scaled back their DEI efforts. The UCLA report is the first to separate streaming films from theatrical releases for analysis, a practice that began in 2023. The study’s methodology involved coding the race and gender of lead actors, directors, and writers for each film. The decline in BIPOC representation is particularly stark, falling from 51 % to 36 % in a single year. The drop in BIPOC directors—from 41 % to 31.5 %—mirrors a broader industry trend of white men dominating high‑budget projects.
Industry observers point to the political climate as a possible driver. The Trump administration’s executive orders and statements have signaled a shift away from DEI initiatives, potentially creating a chilling effect on hiring and creative decisions. While the report does not establish causality, it highlights a correlation between the timing of the orders and the decline in diversity metrics. The authors caution that the data reflect only a snapshot of 2025 releases and that many projects were in development before the current administration’s policies took effect. Nevertheless, the trend raises questions about the sustainability of diversity gains that had been achieved in the previous decade. The UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report will be updated annually; the next release is expected in 2026 and will likely include data on 2026 releases, providing a clearer view of whether the 2025 decline is an anomaly or the start of a longer trend. For now, the report offers a stark reminder that the entertainment industry’s progress on representation is not guaranteed. The decline in diversity in streaming originals, coupled with the political pushback against DEI programs, suggests that the industry may face renewed challenges in maintaining inclusive practices.
