Female Representation on TV Continues to Decrease

The number of women in front of and behind the camera have declined even more this year. In the 2017-18 year, women accounted for 40 percent of all speaking characters on TV programs, 2 percentage points less than the 2016-17 year. The amount of women behind the camera working as creators, writers, directors, etc., has also decreased by 1 percentage point from last year. Martha Lauzen, executive director of San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, said, "We will see these behind-the-scenes employment disparities reflected at the Emmys, and ultimately there will be fewer women on stage being celebrated for excellence in their respective craft areas. It's a vicious cycle of underemployment which results in less recognition which, in turn, reinforces skewed gender ratios behind the scenes."