“Boxed In” Report: Streamers Hire More Women Behind the Scenes than Broadcast, WOC Characters Remain Underrepresented

Research

“Boxed In” Report: Streamers Hire More Women Behind the Scenes than Broadcast, WOC Characters Remain Underrepresented

Now in its 25th year, the latest “Boxed In” report reveals that streaming platforms have yet again eclipsed their broadcast TV competition with the representation of women on television. The study, led by Dr. Martha Lauzen of San Diego State University, found that streamers employed more women than broadcast TV networks in both on-screen and off-screen roles during the 2021-2022 season. 

With women making up 50 percent of major characters on streaming services compared to broadcast TV’s 48 percent, this is the fourth year that streamers have surpassed their broadcast counterparts in representing women on the small screen. The report reveals, however, that women of color remain underrepresented on screen: while streaming programs featured more Asian and Asian American women in major roles (15 percent) than TV networks (10 percent), broadcast programs had a higher percentage of Black (28 percent) and Latina (7 percent) women in major roles than streaming programs (21 percent and 3 percent, respectively). 

The “Boxed In” study measures how women are faring in original U.S. TV programs on both streaming and broadcast network platforms. Conducted from September 2021 to May 2022, this year’s edition focused on how many women were hired for key behind-the-scenes positions and monitored the on-screen representation of women in drama, comedy, and reality TV series.

The study examined over 3,000 characters and 3,800 credits from randomly selected episodes of prime-time series on broadcast networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and the CW, as well as series from streaming services including Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, and Peacock.

According to the report, the television industry, no matter the platform, continues to discriminate against aging women on screen. The percentage of major women characters aging from their 30s to 40s suffered a steep decline on broadcast TV, dropping from 42 percent in their 30s to 15 percent in their 40s. Likewise, the percentage of major women characters on streaming programs fell from 33 percent in their 30s to 14 percent in their 40s. The study also found that women over 60 continue to be dramatically underrepresented on TV, comprising just 3 percent of major characters on both broadcast and streaming programs. 

Notably, the percentage of women working in key behind-the-scenes positions for streamers has reached a recent historic high with 37 percent – a boost of four percentage points from last year’s figures. The same metric for broadcast networks, however, has remained the same since 2020-2021 at 31 percent of women working as creators, directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors, and directors of photography. Overall, both streaming and broadcast programs employed relatively low numbers of women in key off-camera roles: as only 14 percent of the programs hired 11 or more women in the roles considered, while 67 percent employed 11 or more men.

The study also found that streaming programs hired significantly more women directors than broadcast programs, boasting 29 percent compared to 18 percent. The same could be said for women executive producers, with streamers hiring 38 percent and broadcast networks hiring 29 percent. 

“On broadcast and streaming platforms, programs with at least one woman creator employed substantially higher percentages of women in other key behind-the-scenes roles than programs with exclusively male creators,” the report details. “For example, when a program had at least one woman creator, women comprised 33% of directors. On programs with no women creators, women accounted for 18% of directors.” 

The report also points out that 92 percent of both broadcast and streaming programs had no had no women directors of photography; 79 percent had no women directors; 72 percent had no women editors; 71 percent had no women creators; and 65 percent had no women writers on their teams.

Highlights from “Boxed In: Women On Screen and Behind the Scenes on Broadcast and Streaming Television in 2021-22” are below. Read the full report here.