The DGA Inclusion Report shows a stable rate for hiring TV directors
The Directors Guild of America released data related to episodic television hiring trends from the 2023-2024 season, showing numbers have been fairly stable over the past three years, including during the strike period.
The results indicate an increase in labor force participation among women and directors of color over the past decade. The data also focused on women and people of color within executive teams, as well as both LGBTQ+ and disabled members of executive teams. The Guild has kept such data since 2022.
“The good news is that over the past ten seasons, the industry has made measurable gains in the employment of female directors and directors of color in episodic television,” said DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter. “While these gains have remained stable through early 2024, we must remain vigilant during this time when employers have scaled back production. Our diversity and inclusion data is critical to putting pressure on the sector to do a better job of advancing opportunities for executives from historically marginalized communities. So we’re proud to expand the reach of our data to include trends for the LGBTQ+ and disability communities as we remain committed to advocating for a level playing field for all.”
The data analyzed 1,430 DGA-covered television episodes produced over the course of the 2023-2024 season. It showed that 37% of all episodes were directed by women, marking a 16% increase from the previous decade, with 39% and 40% for the two episodes. previous seasons. The same data set showed that 39% of episodes were directed by people of color, the same number as the past two seasons and an increase of 18% from the decade before.
Since the 2014-2015 television season, hiring rates among women of color have increased from 3% to 13% and among men of color from 15% to 26%. White female representation grew from 13% to 20%.
Although the strike led to a decline in episodic television production during the 2023-2024 season, the 1,430 episodes produced reflected hiring in six of seven different demographics.
Data on television episodes produced in 2023 shows that 8.6% of content was directed by members of the LGBTQ+ community and 0.6% of content was directed by a community member with a disability.
“We encourage studios to build on the progress they have made over the past decade as production levels recover following several disruptions to operations in recent years,” said Edward Ornelas, co-chair of the Television Diversity Task Force of the DGA. “We are especially focused on finding ways to increase representation behind the camera for the Latino community, which continues to be left behind despite its status as a large historically marginalized group.”
For female members of directing teams, the hiring rate over the course of the 2023-2024 season was 41%, and 21% for directors of color.
“The diversity of directing teams working in episodic television remains low, especially when compared to hiring gains for episodic directors,” said Heidi McGowen, a UPM member who serves on the Television Diversity Task Force. “To foster a profession that truly reflects a diverse range of perspectives, studios must prioritize increasing inclusivity at every level. The DGA is committed to creating pathways that increase employment opportunities for underrepresented members of executive teams.”
