New Study Says Women Working as TV Creators and In Major On-Screen Roles Has Fallen (Again)

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New Study Says Women Working as TV Creators and In Major On-Screen Roles Has Fallen (Again)

As a seasoned gamer who’s spent countless hours immersed in the diverse worlds of various games, I can’t help but be disheartened by this latest “Boxed In” report. It seems that in the realm of television, we’re still stuck in an outdated script, where female representation both on and off-screen is struggling to break free from the stereotypes that have long plagued our viewing experiences.

Once more, the proportion of women employed as TV creators and in prominent on-screen positions has dropped for the second straight year, based on the most recent “Boxed In” report published on Thursday.

The study, conducted by Dr. Martha Lauzen, director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, analyzed over 3,200 characters and more than 4,400 production crew credits during the 2023-2024 television season. In her findings, she revealed that women accounted for only 23% of creators in both broadcast and streaming networks, a decrease from 26% in the previous year and 30% two years ago. On screen, women represented just 43% of speaking characters (both lead and supporting roles), a drop from 44% the year before. In terms of major characters, females accounted for only 45%, down from 48% in the previous year.

“Researcher Lauzen has pointed out that the proportion of women in television series creation has significantly dropped from the peak it reached between 2019 and 2022. This decline is particularly noticeable in programs aired on broadcast networks. In the 2023-24 season, this percentage was barely above the level seen in 1997-1998, the start of Lauzen’s study. “The number of female characters on screen mirrors the gender balance behind the scenes,” Lauzen explained. “When the proportion of women creators decreases, so does the representation of female characters.”

It’s not too shocking to find out that TV shows produced by women tend to have a larger proportion of women in significant roles behind the camera as well. For instance, when there is at least one female creator, women account for around 30% of the directors and an impressive 60% of the writers. However, on shows with only male creators, women represent only 15% of the directors and a mere 17% of the writers.

The content displayed on screen can be quite unsettling, according to the study. On shows with at least one female creator, women accounted for half of the main characters, while they represented just 26% of protagonists in shows created by men. Additionally, it was observed that female characters are generally younger than their male counterparts. Interestingly, in both broadcast and streaming content, nearly six out of ten male characters were over forty years old, whereas less than one-third of female characters shared the same age demographic.

“Beginning around age 40, there’s a noticeable decrease in the representation of female characters on television. This trend continues for males around their 50s. Consequently, it becomes more common to see male characters advancing into influential roles both professionally and personally as they age. Researcher Lauzen points out that this pattern has persisted since the late 1990s, suggesting that men tend to stay in the spotlight and remain vital past the age of 40, whereas women do not.”

For the past 27 years, I’ve been diving deep into the world of TV, examining both on-screen roles and off-screen credits. As a gamer of this vast landscape, I’ve tracked over 59,700 characters and more than 74,000 people working behind the scenes. This study, which is like my trusty gaming guide, offers one of the most extensive historical records of women’s presence and employment in TV.

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2024-08-22 18:24