Women and Minorities See Significant Gains as First-Time TV Directors

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Women and minorities have seen significant gains among first-time directors in episodic television, a new study from the Directors Guild of America shows. The study of the just-concluded 2016-17 season, released Sept 27, shows the percentage of ethnic minority first-time TV directors more than doubling since 2009-10 and the percentage of women nearly tripling.

“Finally, after years of our efforts to educate the industry, hold employers accountable through our contracts, and push them to do better, we’re seeing signs of meaningful improvement,” said DGA president Thomas Schlamme. The DGA has been studying first-time hires since the 2009-10 season. The new report shows that 56 (or 25%) of all first-time hires in the 2016-17 season were ethnic minorities, up from 24 in the 2015-16 season; 73 (or 32%) were women, up from 38 in the prior season; and 18 (or 8%) were female minorities, up from six.


Women and Minorities See Significant Gains as First-Time TV Directors