Women, Minority First-Time Directors Get Shaft on TV Scripted Series

First-time women and minority directors don’t get the same opportunities as their white male counterparts on scripted TV series, according to a report issued by the Directors Guild of America.

In the five-year period studied (the 2009-2010 through 2013-2014 TV seasons) by the gender and ethnic diversity survey, 479 directors received their first assignment in episodic television. The study revealed that 82 percent of all first-time episodic directors during the five-year span examined were male and only 18 percent were female; 87 percent were Caucasian and only 13 percent were minority directors.