What you are describing with Weir is also known as Pope in the pool scenes (see Save the Cat which is about screenwriting -- for example) or in the case of Game of Thrones - -sexplanation. In other words finding a really cool way to deliver fairly dry info. It is a skill Some authors are better than others.
With regards to moving on -- you are getting some of that, but you are getting other companies which are continuing to try and do better. Actual doing v performative.
Harlequin who I write for continues to seek historically underrepresented authors to write for their series lines. It has been an ongoing process since 2017 and has been far harder than they first thought it would be. Finally, progress is being made and all series (including historical) now have at least one African American writing for them. Prior to 2017, there was an African-American line called Kimani (purchased from BET in 2004) and they looked for one specific voice. They are now looking for a broader range of voices because the books are actually selling well. But the barriers including over reliance on certain tried and trusted methods were not immediately obvious. Among other things, they can only buy manuscripts if someone writes the manuscript and submits it. And yes it should have happened back in 2004 when they bought BET publishing arm (a definite failure of imagination on the part of the former leadership) They are also doing scholarships/internships to try to get more historically underrepresented people into publishing roles (so not just the forward facing authors but the behind the scenes).
True change takes time and in order to take opportunities people have to know about opportunities and how to take advantage of said opportunities.
What you are describing with Weir is also known as Pope in the pool scenes (see Save the Cat which is about screenwriting -- for example) or in the case of Game of Thrones - -sexplanation. In other words finding a really cool way to deliver fairly dry info. It is a skill Some authors are better than others.
With regards to moving on -- you are getting some of that, but you are getting other companies which are continuing to try and do better. Actual doing v performative.
For example, Stantec, a global engineering firm who my daughters works for has just announced a series of scholarships and apprenticeships aimed at historically underrepresented groups in hopes of improving the pipeline of talent. https://www.stantec.com/en/about/community-engagement/scholarships/equity-diversity-scholarship.
Harlequin who I write for continues to seek historically underrepresented authors to write for their series lines. It has been an ongoing process since 2017 and has been far harder than they first thought it would be. Finally, progress is being made and all series (including historical) now have at least one African American writing for them. Prior to 2017, there was an African-American line called Kimani (purchased from BET in 2004) and they looked for one specific voice. They are now looking for a broader range of voices because the books are actually selling well. But the barriers including over reliance on certain tried and trusted methods were not immediately obvious. Among other things, they can only buy manuscripts if someone writes the manuscript and submits it. And yes it should have happened back in 2004 when they bought BET publishing arm (a definite failure of imagination on the part of the former leadership) They are also doing scholarships/internships to try to get more historically underrepresented people into publishing roles (so not just the forward facing authors but the behind the scenes).
True change takes time and in order to take opportunities people have to know about opportunities and how to take advantage of said opportunities.