Representation in media has always been an important issue. Most people see TV as a fictionalized reflection of real life, and, as such, it is crucial that audiences feel they are accurately represented on screen. A new survey from San Diego State University's Women in Television and Film department sheds some light on how the entertainment industry is representing women on screen and behind the scenes, including how often women are employed in streaming shows versus broadcast network series.
The annual Boxed In report found that women represented 50% of major characters on streaming shows, versus 48% on broadcast shows. That represents a historic high for broadcast viewers, but a decline of two percentage points from the same survey last year for streaming shows.
The numbers show that streaming representation tends to fluctuate year to year, whereas broadcast TV has shown a slow, but steady increase. This could be due to the ever-increasing volume of streaming shows that come out every year, which can lead to more volatility.
The survey also indicated that behind the scenes, women are even better represented on streaming vs. network TV. Thirty-seven percent of creators, directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors, and directors of photography working on streaming programs in the last year were women vs. 31% on broadcast TV.
The numbers indicate that productions from both sources have progress still to make in staffing key roles with women. Only 14% of shows from broadcast and streaming employed 11 or more women in key roles, whereas 67% employed 11 or more men in such roles.
Shows with at least one woman in a creator role tend to be much more conscious of the disparities. On programs that had at least one woman creator, women comprised 33% of directors; on programs with no women creators, women accounted for just 18% of directors.
The Boxed In survey also took a look at the representation of women in different age groups. The survey found that for both streaming and broadcast shows, women in their 40s were represented at a much lower rate than women in their 30s. Women 60 and over were drastically underrepresented, making up just 3% of major characters on broadcast and streaming.
Men in their 40s were represented at a rate of at least 10% points higher in both network and streaming shows. The numbers indicate that while the representation of women may be increasing, in many cases women are being put on screen to attract male audiences.
Finally, the survey took an in-depth look at the representation of women of color. The numbers indicate that while broadcast shows do a better job of representing Latina and Black women, streaming shows are better at representing female Asian characters.
All in all, the representation of women has certainly improved from where it was in the industry 20 years ago. However, Boxed In’s survey still indicates how far Hollywood still has to go in terms of employing women, especially women of color and women past their 30s. Streaming is doing a better job than broadcast in most categories of representation, but both sources must commit to ensuring their representation of women improves.