Over the last week we’ve seen many actors boycott the Oscars this year, saying they won’t attend due to the fact that there’s a major diversity problem, but why are the Oscars the main target for an entire industry’s diversity problem?

There’s a diversity problem in Hollywood, and it’s been known for the last century. Slowly, we’ve seen progress as more people of color star in major blockbusters and smaller films that see nominations and awards at the Golden Globes and Oscars.

But why exactly have the Oscars been targeted by some of Hollywood’s biggest actors when the Oscars are a simply a result of what movies the major studios are willing to make?

There is no doubt that the Academy itself has a diversity problem, as it’s been reported that there are 6,028 members of the voting academy, and 94% of them are white, 77% are men, and 86% are over the age of 50.

But the core issue remains back in Hollywood’s major studios, where 94% of film studio heads are white (100% are male) and senior studio management is 92% white. If we want to know why the Oscars are so white, the proof is in the companies in charge of making all films.

As with many things, it starts from the top and trickles down. The problem we’re seeing now is the result of decisions made in board rooms where there isn’t a single person of color making a casting decision or agreeing to spend $100 million on the production of a movie.

The Oscars are simply a byproduct of a more systemic problem, which is that until we have a more diverse group of people in charge in the industry, we’re always going to see the same result.

The president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, has already set in motion changes that will allow the Academy to be refreshed every 10 years and should help include more people of color in the Academy, which is a great thing to see, but it won’t fix the problem that, at inception, movies starring people of color aren’t being made.

Blaming the Oscars for this problem is like blaming the audience when they only see movies with white stars, despite the fact that there aren’t any movies showing at their specific theater with people of color. It’s completely backwards thinking, and it won’t change anything unless the studio heads start making different decisions.

Putting heat on the Oscars will get attention, and that could lead to some of the studio heads and people in charge of greenlighting projects to start making an effort to include more people of color, but the root issue will still be stuck back in the executive offices.

The Oscars are basically just the easiest thing to target for a boycott because we can point and say, “Look they’ve nominated only white actors,” but doing something because it’s easy doesn’t mean it’s right.

The Oscars do a lot of great things: they help build careers for actors, they generate interest in films people wouldn’t normally see, and they highlight actors who wouldn’t normally be seen when that actor does an exceptional job which the Academy recognizes.

And while the Academy’s diversity problem is a major one, the true boycott should be back with the major Hollywood studios that still believe it’s better for business to have a white lead than a person of color in their next movie.

Until that changes, we can boycott the Oscars all we want, but next year we’ll still see the same faces staring back at us when the nominations come out if we don’t address the true problems.

It’s been said before, but if we don’t give people of color more opportunities in the film industry, they can’t get nominated or win awards for roles that don’t exist. And as far as I know, the Oscars aren’t in charge of greenlighting many movies.