Women’s Media Center 2023 Report Gender & Non-Acting Primetime Emmy Nominations - Full Report

In 2023, the television industry had a major shakeup caused by the union strikes of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA), with both unions fighting for livable wages, job opportunities that could be placed at risk by the use of artificial intelligence, and other rights related to fair compensation and insurance. Based on how little has changed for women in the industry, who are severely underrepresented — in terms of work opportunities and awards recognition for non-acting jobs — if a union existed for women in television’s non-acting jobs, then there would be more than enough reasons for them to go on strike. For the annual Primetime Emmy Awards, the total numbers of women who get nominations in non-acting categories have continued to hit a proverbial “glass ceiling” of below 40% every year.

The total numbers have not changed from the previous year: For the 2023 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, 33% of the non-acting nominees were women, the same percentage for the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards. And in typically male-dominated categories, things are getting worse for women. Of the four major non-acting fields for the awards show — directing, editing, producing, and writing — three out of the four had noticeable decreases in female representation. Only one field (producing) saw a very modest increase of 3 percentage points from the previous year.

“These numbers show that the pendulum is swinging in the wrong direction,” said Julie Burton, president and CEO of the Women’s Media Center. “Women continue to demonstrate excellence in behind-the-scenes roles without the same access as men to the rewards and benefits that often come with these high-profile, career-shaping awards.”

The 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards had originally been scheduled to take place on September 18, 2023. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards (for technical categories) had been set for September 9 and September 10, 2023. Due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, both ceremonies were rescheduled. The 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will now take place on January 15, 2024, and will be televised on Fox. The companion Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be presented on January 6 and January 7, 2024. The two-part Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony will be streamed live on Emmys.com. FXX will televise highlights of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on January 13, 2024. The Primetime Emmy Awards and Creative Arts Emmy Awards that are taking place in January 2024 will be held at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live.

Press release: New Report: Women Make No Improvement in Non-Acting Primetime Emmy Nominations

Infographic: Women’s Media Center 2023 Report Gender & Non-Acting Primetime Emmy Nominations - Infographics