Under pressure to add more diversity to its ranks, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that awards the Golden Globes, unveiled a plan.
HFPA Commits to Making Transformational Reforms
Pat Saperstein, provided by
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The Hollywood Foreign Press Association issued a statement on Instagram Saturday evening, promising “transformational change” after coming under fire in recent weeks for a lack of diversity in the organization and for ethical issues surrounding the Golden Globes.
The Instagram post detailed that the organizations would be hiring an independent diversity and equity expert who will consult on membership policies. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the organization had declined to hire a diversity consultant when the matter was raised after last year’s Black Lives Matter protests.
LA Times, published the same day, claimed that the HFPA members receive lavish perks from the studios and networks whose projects HFPA members later write about and vote on.
Late Saturday evening, the HFPA shared a statement across their social media pages laying out their plans for change, including hiring an independent expert in organizational diversity, equity and inclusion.
RELATED: Among other important tasks, this expert will audit our bylaws and membership requirements to help us guard against any exclusionary practices and achieve a more diverse membership. We are also mandating annual anti-racism and unconscious bias education and sexual harassment training for every member of the HFPA, the statement said.
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On Saturday night, in the wake of a Times investigation that cast a shadow of controversy over last Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. announced that it is committing to “transformational change.”
In a statement issued on its social media platforms, the 87-member group of international journalists that votes on the Globes announced a number of reforms aimed at addressing criticisms that have long bedeviled the group but were given renewed focus as a result of The Times investigation. “We at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association are committed to transformational change,” the group said. “Effective immediately, the Board in consultation with outside advisors will oversee reforms and be accountable for that change.”