Women's Media Center: 2019 review of gender and non-acting Emmy primetime nominations

Despite a year in television that was dominated by female-driven content on screen, gender parity remains elusive for women in non-acting nominations for the 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards, according to the most recent Women’s Media Center analysis.

Men represent 68 percent of all behind-the-scenes nominations in 98 total categories compared to women, who represent only 32 percent, a slight two percentage point increase from last year, the WMC research shows.

There were gains across the board for women in the major writing, producing, editing, and directing categories — 31 percent women and 69 percent men — up five percentage points from last year, yet still 19 percentage points from attaining gender equity. Those improvements are largely attributable to women spearheading their own projects and showing up in multiple writing, producing, editing, and directing categories: Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), Ava DuVernay (When They See Us), Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé).

A deeper examination of these four influential sets of categories illustrates the male domination: The number of women directors remains woefully low at 19, or 11 percent, compared to 155 men, or 89 percent. Women received only 27 percent of editing nominations, with 73 percent going to men. Women represent only 28 percent of the nominees for writing, while 72 percent are men. Female producers still account for only 31 percent of nominees, while men dominate with 69 percent. 

Women lost ground in the technical categories. Female nominees dipped a percentage point to 34 percent. There are six categories that are exclusively male.

“The importance of Emmy nominations for women in front of and behind the camera cannot be overstated.  Nominations can lead to better pay and more opportunities, but women will never have a chance at equal status in nominations until they have equal employment and leadership opportunities in the industry,” said Julie Burton, president and CEO of the Women’s Media Center. “In particular, the behind-the-scenes roles are powerful positions and critical in shaping the images and representation of women on screen. We must level the playing field for women if the entertainment industry is to be transformed and reflect the diversity and inclusivity of audiences. It’s not only what audiences want, but also what they deserve.”

“These numbers show the clear gender disparity in behind-the-scenes roles for women in network, cable and streaming,” said Jane Fonda, WMC co-founder. “The Women’s Media Center will continue to put pressure on Hollywood until there is equality in television.”

In an industry that has long struggled with diversity and inclusion, a few women broke barriers. DuVernay and Knowles-Carter both made history by being the first black women to earn multiple nominations for directing in a single year. DuVernay is nominated for writing, directing, and producing When They See Us for Netflix, which has a total of 16 nominations. Knowles-Carter is nominated for writing, directing, producing, and musical direction for Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé. Janet Mock and Our Lady became the first openly transgender women nominated, for producing Pose, a drama series about New York’s underground ball culture in the 1980s.

The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards airs September 22 on FOX.

The Women’s Media Center, co-founded by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem, is an inclusive and feminist organization that works to raise the visibility, viability and decision-making power of women and girls in media to ensure that their stories get told and their voices are heard. We do this by researching and monitoring media; creating and modeling original online, print and podcast content; training women and girls to be effective in media; and promoting women experts in all fields. 

For more information, contact Cristal Williams Chancellor, director of communications, at cristal@womensmediacenter.com or 202-270-8539.