Women, Minority TV Director Hiring Lags

The expanding world of TV series is creating more opportunities for female and minority directors, but they remain a fraction of those hired, a Hollywood guild report said. Women directed 17 percent and minorities 19 percent of the more than 4,000 episodes produced last season for broadcast, cable and high-budget streaming series, the Directors Guild of America said in its annual survey.

For both groups, that represents a 1 percent increase over the year before. "These numbers shine a light on the lack of real progress by employers in this industry, plain and simple. Of particular concern is the precedent being set by the fastest-growing category, streaming video," said Paris Barclay, the guild's president. The number of episodes from streaming services including Netflix, Amazon and Hulu increased by 120 percent last year, but just 8 percent of episodes were directed by minorities, the study found. Women directed 17 percent.