Directors Guild of America Report Shows Increased Diversity in Television

A record high percentage of episodic television directing jobs went to women and directors of color this past TV season, the Directors Guild of America reported today. The percentage of episodes directed by women rose to 25% of all episodes, and the percentage of episodes helmed by directors of color increased to 24% of all episodes.[1]

Breaking down the data:

• Women directed 25% of all episodes[2], up from 21% last year;
• African-Americans (male and female) directed 13%, the same as the year prior;
• Asian-Americans directed 6%, up from 5%;
• Latinos directed 5%, up from 4%;
• Caucasians directed 76% of all episodes, down from 77% the prior season;
• Men directed 75%, down from 79%.

Said DGA President Thomas Schlamme:

"It's encouraging to see that the compass is pointing in the right direction, yet progress is mixed. The bright spot here is that the doors are finally opening wider for women, who are seeing more opportunities to direct television. But it's disappointing the same can't be said for directors of color. The studios and networks who do the hiring still have a long way to go, and we are committed to continuing this important fight."

The DGA's annual episodic TV director inclusion report, released today, analyzed nearly 4,300 episodes produced in the 2017-2018 television season, down from the all-time high of nearly 4,500 episodes in the prior season.

The effects of the decline were not uniform, with year-over-year changes varying by ethnicity and gender. Asian American directors helmed 9 more episodes than in the 2016-17 season, and Latinos directed 12 more episodes - while African Americans helmed 14 fewer episodes, and Caucasians directed 235 fewer episodes. Women directed 131 more episodes than in the 2016-17 season, while men directed 339 fewer episodes.

For the DGA's recent study on the hiring of first-time episodic television directors, which raised concerns about the impact of employer hiring practices on long-term inclusion, CLICK HERE.

Report highlights:

The number of episodes helmed by directors of color was stagnant, while the number of episodes directed by women saw double-digit growth and the number of episodes by Caucasian males declined.

Women directed 1,085 episodes - a 14% increase over last year.

Caucasian women helmed 813 episodes, up from 714 last year; and minority women directed 261 episodes, up from 236.

Directors of color helmed 1,017 episodes, just 11 more than in the 2016-2017 season - a 1% increase.

Minority males directed 756 episodes, 14 fewer episodes than last season.

Caucasian males directed 2,414 episodes, 335 fewer episodes than last season.

Insider hiring dynamics had a disruptive effect. While some insider hiring leads to true "hyphenates" and career directors, most does not. The ongoing employer practice of giving out jobs to series insiders with little long-term interest in directing has created a challenge both to increasing future diversity and the incumbent workforce. Nowhere is that more clear than the ever-growing[3] pipeline of new episodic television directors entering the pool. A recent multi-year DGA study found that in the seven TV seasons between 2009/10 and 2015/16 - nearly 70% of the more than 720 first break directing assignments were given to insiders, 75% of which went to male Caucasians. Insiders went on to develop directing careers just 24% of the time, compared with 71% of career track directors, who were also more diverse as a group. Not only does the practice act as a bottleneck to the pipeline of new directors, crowding out talented diverse directors - it also diminishes the available number of jobs for the increasingly diverse workforce of career track directors.

To post a comment, you must register and login.