Diversity has always been a priority at BET, and now the Directors' Guild of America has recognized the network for its efforts to bridge the race and gender divide in Hollywood. 
Yesterday, the DGA released its annual report analyzing the number of women and minorities who were hired as directors for prime-time TV across broadcast and cable series as well as original content series made for the Internet. According to the report, which studied more than 3,900 episodes produced in the 2014-2015 network television season and the 2014 cable television season from more than 270 scripted series, BET is ranked at the top of the list as the #1 network for diverse hires and was recognized as the best network for female and minority directors.
The DGA study highlighted three BET shows, Being Mary Jane, The Game, and Single Ladies, for having 100 percent minority or female directors. Unfortunately, according to DGA's president, Paris Barclay, other networks have a lot of work to do to catch up. “The up-tick in the number of episodes directed by women — modest but hopeful — is just a drop in the bucket of what needs to be done by studios, networks and show runners before we can begin to realize equal opportunities in television for our members,” he said in a statement.
Bottom line: nobody brings women and minorities into the Hollywood fold quite like BET! 
Watch our interview with Barclay, who, in his spare time, served as director and executive producer of Sons of Anarchy, below:

BET.com is your No. 1 source for Black celebrity news, photos, exclusive videos and all the latest in the world of hip hop and R&B music. 

Click here to enter the #LookYourSundayBest contest for a chance to win FREE natural hair-care products.

(Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)