The hiring of ethnic minorities and women as first-time TV series directors is up sharply, according to a Directors Guild of America study released Wednesday.
They’re part of record growth and diversity in the “pipeline” of incoming directors, the study of the 2016-17 TV season found. The percentage of minority first-time episodic series directors has more than doubled since the 2009-10 season, while the percentage of female first-time directors has nearly tripled.
“The fact is, it all starts with the pipeline,” guild President Thomas Schlamme said in a statement, with hiring decisions made now affecting who will be in the employment pool “in two years, five years, 10 years’ time. Our research shows that when employers actually do the work of being inclusive, they find talented directors who overwhelmingly succeed in establishing longer-term careers.”
Schlamme credited the guild’s effort to educate the industry and hold employers accountable through contracts for bringing about what he called “meaningful improvement” in diversity.
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