Men Still Outnumber Women in Reality TV Production Roles, Study Finds

Gender imbalance persists among producers of unscripted TV programs in the U.S. and abroad, a study has found.

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The report, conducted by Banijay Group, Everywoman Studios and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, focused on the representation of women behind the scenes on 360 reality TV shows that aired in the U.S., U.K., Brazil and France between 2021 and 2023.

For roles such as executive producers, creators and showrunners, women are outnumbered by men in all of reality TV production, the study found. Men comprise 58.4% of executive producer, supervising producer and show creator roles.

Additionally, the study found that the industry deems hiring men as more financially stable, even though work produced, written by or starring women often yields higher returns on investment. Reality TV show creators are overwhelmingly men across all four countries, with an average of 73.7% being men and 25.7% women. However, this difference is most pronounced in the U.S., where 80.6% of men are creators and just 16.1% are women.

Despite the overall gender imbalance, across all four countries the percentage of women executive producers has increased almost 10%, from 36.6% in 2021 to 46% in 2023. The study deems it necessary for the industry to find ways to give women more executive opportunities in order to drive systemic change.

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“For 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, but also they need to be given the resources to reimagine and redesign it,” researchers wrote in the study.

The study calls for the industry to create mentorship programs for women in mid-level production roles to advance in their careers, prioritize of equity in salaries and opportunities, foster a culture of communication and offer of paid leave to improve the gender gap.

Other key findings from the report include:

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• The difference between men and women executive producers is the most pronounced in France (64.6% men and 35.4% women), followed by the U.S. (62.5% men and 37.3% women). In Brazil, there are slightly more women executive producers than men executive producers (52.4% women and 47.6% men).
• 3 in 4 reality TV creators are men across all countries.
• Despite the gender imbalance among executive producers, there is near-perfect gender parity among supervising producers (50.9% men and 49.1% women) across all countries.