New DGA Report Reveals Little Progress Has Been Made For Women And POC Directors

On Thursday, The Director’s Guild of America released a new Feature Film Diversity and Inclusion report detailing the limited progress made in the feature film industry over the last five years. The report highlighted the percentages of women and people of color working in film as directors, and the numbers were dismally low compared with its television counterpart.

The report revealed that of 1,026 feature films from 2018 to 2022, 16% were led by women and 17% by people of color. The scope of women directing in those five years ranged from 12% to 22%, and similarly low percentages were seen for people of color, with the lowest being 13% in 2019 and the highest being only 25% in 2021. 

Despite the small percentage of women and people of color directing films in Hollywood, this report shows an increase in percentages from the previous report from 2013-2017. Women directors saw an 8% increase and a 4% increase for people of color. 

Television is a very different story regarding the representation of women and people of color in directing. In 2014, 16% of television directors were women and people of color, but that number has more than doubled, with 38% of directors being women and 34% being people of color by 2020-2021. 

In the breakdown of women and people of color hired to the budgets of films, 13% of women were brought on for high-budget features, with 17% for people of color. On the other hand, 18% of women and 17% of people of color were responsible for low-budget films. 

In a statement on the D&I report, DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter said, “The DGA’s latest five-year analysis reveals the continuing systemic underrepresentation of women and Directors of color in directing features. Though there has been significant progress in episodic television hiring, feature film hiring continues to be both inconsistent from year to year with little or no growth over the last five years.” 

Glatter added, “The DGA remains united in our commitment to continue pushing for meaningful action from producers that will increase access and representation that aligns with our diverse membership.”