What Are the Existing Challenges Women Face in Television Production?

Many women of this generation still face various challenges in regards to equality and the workforce, specifically in television and production. Issues like equal pay for equal work and non-discriminatory hiring practices still drive many of the behind-the-scenes decisions. Success stories are few and far between, and those women who do find success often confront considerable resistance from the male-dominated establishment. Less publicity, poor ratings from critics and a harder time landing the job are all normal challenges facing women in television and production roles.

Facts About Writing for TV as a Women

Gertrude Berg made it big by writing and producing one of the longest-running radio shows of all time, "The Goldbergs," eventually transitioning to Broadway and television. However, her media triumph shines a light on how scarce such success can be, highlighting the continued challenges facing women in production and writing today. The statistics are unfortunately clear:

Only 11 percent of writers working on top-grossing films in 2014 were female.
Five percent of cinematographers are women.
Directing is mainly male, with only seven percent of films directed by women.

Fiction vs. News: Do Women Get a Shot in Journalism?

The more hard-hitting the topic, the more the gender disparity becomes clear. Judy Crichton may have become a household name for her work as the executive producer of the "American Experience," as well as one of the first women to produce the news, but the journalistic opportunities for women in crime, justice, and world politics are rare.

This disparity extends into the production studio. Barbara Walters broke ground as the first female co-anchor of an evening network news program and still faced her own battles within the network, but the problem of equal billing and equal pay still affects most women even at the top of the news pyramid.

No Middle Ground

One of the other factors that can affect a woman's career in television is the superstar syndrome. There are examples of women who have earned incredible media success (Oprah Winfrey comes to mind), but they are not common. For every female character on television, there are 2.42 male characters. Fewer female writers mean fewer women working in the industry, and the negligible number of female directors impacts the number of female producers.

To learn more about the history of women in television and television production, be sure to read our articles in our Women’s History Month series.

Sources:

http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/moviemom/2015/01/three-views-on-the…

http://msmagazine.com/blog/2013/05/31/10-challenges-that-american-women…

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/22/hollywood-s-women-prob…

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/03/how-to-get-mor…

http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/still-talking-about-it…

http://www.tvparty.com/vaultgold.html

http://www.biography.com/people/barbara-walters-9523127

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/arts/television/17crichton.html?_r=0