The Motion Picture Association has announced a fellowship program to help diversify the industry's legal and lobbying staffs.
Hollywood has taken flak for insufficient diversity in front screens, large and small, as well as behind them.
MPA in conjunction with the Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program (EICOP) has launched the Entertainment Law & Policy Fellowship, a year-long paid program with the legal department and government affairs shops of both MPA and one of its member studios — The Walt Disney Co., NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros.
The program is open to recent graduates of HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities), HSIs (hispanic-serving institutions) and MSIs (minority-serving institutions). Applications are being accepted beginning today (Sept. 28) and through Dec. 20. Applicants must commit to participating between June 1, 2022 and June 1, 2023.
Fellows will spend three months in MPA’s Los Angeles office and then three months at its Washington headquarters, followed by six months at one of the member studios.
The fellowship will include housing, travel, and stipends.
The program was launched to coincide with MPA's 100th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative.
MPA chairman Charles Rivkin said the fellowship will ”strengthen our ongoing efforts to diversify the Hollywood pipeline, which is critical to ensuring that our industry continues to create and tell stories in innovative ways that push boundaries and shape culture.”
