The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced that it will take "immediate action" to address organisational diversity within its group, sharing the steps it commits itself to take over the next 60 days.
This comes almost a week after the group announced that it will be more inclusive ahead of its Golden Globes ceremony, following a recent Los Angeles Times exposé that found the HFPA had no black journalists among its 87 members.
A statement from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). pic.twitter.com/R81QjEMgK5
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) March 7, 2021
In the next two months, the group said it will hire an independent expert in organisational diversity, equity and inclusion, focus on adding black and other under-represented professionals to the organisation, and hire an independent law firm that would ensure a process is in place for reporting and investigating violations of ethical standards or code of conduct.
It also said it would increase its support of internship, mentorship and scholarship programmes for black and under-represented students interested in international journalism.
The HFPA said that its mission has always been about "covering entertainment and film, advancing the critical work of entertainment-related charities and elevating future film and television professionals from all walks of life unified by their shared passion and love for film and television. But we must and will do more."
This year, the 78th Golden Globe Awards, which took place in a bicoastal format that was mostly online, witnessed a huge drop in ratings, almost 60 per cent from 2020.
