Here’s some reality: Television remains a man’s world.
A new study examining women’s representation in the creation and production of reality TV shows from several countries, over the course of several years, revealed that men solidly outnumber women behind the scenes. To be more precise, they make up nearly 60% of all executive producers, supervising producers and show creators.
The Geena Davis Institute, a nonprofit media research center founded by the Oscar-winning actress, worked in collaboration with French production company Banijay Entertainment and female-focused media company Everywoman Studios on this study. It examined shows – including favorites such as “The Bachelor” and “Survivor” – from the U.S., the U.K., Brazil, and France, produced between 2021 and 2023.
“In general, a homogenous group of white men dominate key positions in television production, a consequence of systemic inequality across the sector,” the team found. “In the industry, hiring men is seen as more financially stable, so men work more often and with larger production budgets, whereas women storytellers are seen as too risky to invest in.”
It’s “an historical issue that has been institutionalized and normalized,” added Karla Pita Loor, a chief strategy officer at the Hyphenate Media Group, who was also involved in the study.
In a glimmer of hope, increases in women’s representation in reality TV were observed in all four countries studied, but progress has been inconsistent – sometimes even reversing from year to year – and parity remains a long way off. The situation is especially bleak when it comes to who is creating and conceiving these shows – three quarters of those roles are occupied by men. In the U.S., it’s even more pronounced, with 80% of those jobs being held by men.
Changing the status quo matters for two reasons, the study’s authors suggest. First, women are producing more successful, popular works that create greater returns on producers’ investments – discounting the bias that limits womens’ opportunities in the space in the first place. But beyond dollars and cents, researchers also assert that these shows, and those who make them, are driving broader discourse and influencing attitudes around how we perceive and engage with the world around us. And not for the better.
“The types of reality shows produced reflect and affect values in society,” they wrote, pointing to masculine-coded crime-chaser series and survival contests that reinforce stale messages on women’s victimhood and weaknesses, and reality dating programming geared toward women, complete with contestants who reinforce unattainable beauty standards. “[T]he types of shows produced — and how they are made — can be disrupted and reimagined as new voices are brought to the table.”
And those who ran the study were clear about the necessity of hiring more women – and letting them change everything.
“[F]or women to fully make a mark on the industry, they need to not only be elevated to lead in the space as it currently exists,” researchers wrote, “but also they need to be given the resources to reimagine and redesign it.”
