Women Of Color Directed Just One Percent Of TV Shows Last Season

Study finds lopsided representation

According to some recent studies, odds are you and the person responsible for your favorite television show have absolutely nothing in common.

Think Progress has done numerous reports on the lack of diversity behind the lens and their latest finding says that just 1% of TV show episodes last season were directed by women of color.

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A figure like that is especially haunting given that so many women of color watch television.

This is how women fared during the 2010-2011 television season, according to Women's Media Report [PDF]:

-18 percent of creators
-22 percent of executive producers
-37 percent of producers
-15 percent of writers
-11 percent of directors
-20 percent of editors
-4 percent of directors of photography

Given that women of color are usually the minority going into any situation, they are going to especially be underrepresented within small numbers like those. Which makes the fact that they directed just 1% of the shows that came on television last year, not so much of a surprise. It also goes into dangerous territory considering that of that 1% the more popular shows are ones like Basketball Wives where the show's African American creator pretty much defends the extreme behavior of black women on reality shows.

It also has to be asked, do numbers like these exist because the opportunities are limited, or could it be because maybe, women of color aren't that interested in being in the television industry. Was there an influx of black women in your media or mass communications class in college? 

[Also Read: Racism on Reality TV]