Stacy L. Smith, associate professor of communication and founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative (AII), has been selected for The James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards, which honor trailblazing leaders who are transforming California’s future.
Smith is among seven recipients recognized by the foundation for advancing innovative solutions to the state’s toughest challenges, informing policymakers and inspiring the next generation of leaders. Smith has dedicated her career to championing representation in entertainment through actionable research and advocacy. For more than two decades, her work has accelerated equality and representation in Hollywood and beyond, creating more opportunities for people from all backgrounds in today’s most popular and impactful storytelling.
Spanning gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+ identity, people with disabilities, age, and mental health, Smith’s groundbreaking research and initiatives are reshaping representation on- and off-screen as well as informing inclusion efforts for industry giants such as Netflix, Universal, Amazon, Adobe, and Spotify.
For example, the Inclusion Rider, the brainchild of Smith, became an industry-wide call to action in 2018 when actor Frances McDormand used the term during her Academy Award acceptance speech, urging her peers to add inclusive auditioning and casting practices to their contracts. One year later, Smith developed and launched the 4% Challenge, which asks actors, producers and studios to work with a woman director on a film at least once in 18 months. As a result, the percentage of women directors of top-grossing films jumped from 4.5% in 2018 to 10.7% in 2019 — and reached 15% in 2020. In addition, Smith is a co-author of the Amazon Studios Inclusion Policy, which governs original content from the streamer and sets a new industry standard for equity and inclusion.
“It’s imperative that our creative and cultural industries reflect the audiences they serve, and Dr. Smith’s data-driven approach is critical to identifying gaps in representation across film, TV, music and more,” USC Annenberg Dean Willow Bay said. “Her research has been a catalyst for change, helping to create more inclusive communities of practice. We are incredibly proud to have her leadership honored.”
Smith has also been instrumental in developing programs that support a more diverse talent pipeline. In 2024, Smith joined with Academy Award-winner Cate Blanchett and Emmy-nominated producer Coco Francini to create The Proof of Concept Accelerator Program, which provides eight filmmakers whose stories promote the perspectives of women, trans, and non-binary people with $50,000 to create a short film that serves as “proof of concept” for a feature-length movie. Together with Universal Pictures and USC's School of Dramatic Arts, Smith launched a first-of-its-kind program that offers six recent graduates the opportunity to learn about the industry and audition for small roles in Universal-produced films.
“It’s very gratifying to learn that the Irvine Foundation is recognizing Dr. Smith with this important and much-deserved honor,” said Emily Roxworthy, dean of the USC School of Dramatic Arts. “The School of Dramatic Arts is proud to have effectively partnered with her to design impactful, research-based interventions that truly move the needle on inclusive storytelling in film and television.”
At USC, Smith has taught more than 10,000 students in her courses and developed the COMM 313 course “Mass Media and Society. Smith also developed COMM 494: Content Analysis of Popular Films: Examining Character Portrayals, which equips students with the hands-on research skills to assess and measure the equity, inclusion and diversity of characters in popular media content, including film, television and music.
“For the past 20-plus years, I have sought to work with undergraduates to create meaningful change in the entertainment industry,” Smith said. “I am grateful that the James Irvine Foundation could recognize the impact that education, research and advocacy can have and I look forward to continuing this mission in the years to come.”
Policymakers have relied upon Smith’s expertise and she has testified before the House Judiciary Committee and at a California Joint Diversity Hearing of Assembly Committees on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism & Internet Media and Revenue and Taxation. She has spoken twice at the United Nations and at the White House, and co-sponsored a day-long conference with the White House Council on Women and Girls and the U.S. Department of Education.
Each year, the Awards recognize individuals who are confronting the state’s critical challenges with innovative and effective solutions that improve people’s lives and contribute to a better California. The foundation spotlights these leaders and their work to advance solutions that merit expansion, replication, or consideration from policymakers. It provides each recipient’s organization with a grant of $350‚000‚ and helps recipients share their approaches with policymakers and practitioners.