DGA urges more diversity
A new report on TV hiring finds that women and minority television directors are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to getting their start in Hollywood.
In a review of 611 firsttime TV directors hired from 2009 to 2015, the Directors Guild of America found that 82% were male and 18% were female. Caucasians accounted for 86% of all firsttime hires, while 14% were minority directors.
Union officials said the results highlighted a systemic problem in the television industry.
“You can’t increase diversity in the long term without focusing on entry into the business — we challenge the networks, studios and executive producers who make all the hiring decisions in episodic television to set diversity hiring goals,” DGA President Paris Barclay said in a statement.
The findings come at a time when diversity in television is a hot topic in Hollywood. The success of such TV shows as “Scandal” and “Empire” have demonstrated that diverse programming can attract mainstream audiences and put pressure on networks to improve their hiring practices.
Barclay said the retention rate of female and minority TV directors should be motivation enough to spur more of their hires. Data from the DGA’s study showed that 51% of female and 42% of minority firsttime episodic TV directors continued directing after their first series — outpacing their male and Caucasian counterparts, whose continuation rates were 44% and 36%, respectively.
When breaking down the backgrounds of these firsttime episodic TV directors, writers and producers made up 26% of the pool; actors 20%; cinematographers and camera operators were 8%; editors came in at 5% and other crew made up 6%.
“It may sound revolutionary, but those with the power to hire may want to consider bringing in more directors — people who are committed to directing as a career — instead of approaching the assignment as a perk,” Barclay said.
The study showed that 27% of first-time hires were people who previously had directed in other genres. The remaining 8% were part of the directorial team — assistant directors, unit production managers and second unit directors.
“There are many willing, able, and experienced women and diverse directors out there — we encourage the employers to reach out and hire them,” Barclay said.