New Study Reveals Gender Disparity in Reality TV

Banijay Entertainment, Everywoman Studios and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDI) have revealed the results of the Behind the Scenes: Women’s Representation in Unscripted Television in the U.S., U.K., Brazil and France study, investigating gender parity in decision-making roles in reality TV.

Summarizing change in gender dynamics as “slow and inconsistent” across the board, the report concluded that intervention is necessary to shift the dial and foster greater inclusion behind the scenes, particularly with respect to creators.

Overall, men outnumber women in reality television production, making up 58.4 percent of executive producers, supervising producers and creators, compared to 41.5 percent of women.

Three in four reality TV creators are men (73.7 percent compared with 25.7 percent female) across all countries and all years, with the gender difference most pronounced in the U.S. (80.6 percent male compared with 16.1 percent female).

Across all countries, the percentage of female executive producers has increased nearly 10 percent from 2021 to 2023—from 36.6 percent to 46.0 percent.

Near-gender parity among supervising producers (50.9 percent male and 49.1 percent female), across all countries and all year.

Commissioned by Banijay Entertainment, in partnership with Everywoman Studios, the study’s results were unveiled at a reception in Los Angeles hosted by Geena Davis. Also a the event, Banijay Entertainment announced a second cycle of its global women’s accelerator program, Banijay Launch, which saw over 500 applications from women creators across more than 30 territories in its first year. The entry portal for the second cycle will go live at MIPCOM 2024.

Madeline Di Nonno, president and CEO of Geena Davis Institute, commented: “We are heartened by Banjiay’s leadership in not only identifying gender gaps within the industry, but also in their commitment to improve advancement opportunities in the company itself. We know that if women are in the drivers seat as decision makers then it will provide more diverse roles onscreen as well as behind-the-camera.”

Sharon Levy, CEO of Endemol Shine North America, commented: “We hope this report will be a spark that ignites conversations about getting more women in leadership roles for unscripted television and inspires the industry to come up with some actionable ideas to make that happen! Banijay Launch itself proves that we, as a major player, can do more, and we are, but the whole entertainment industry needs to step up and make it easier for women to reach these top spots. It’s time to tackle this massive gender gap head-on!”

Abby Greensfelder, founder and CEO of Everywoman Studios, commented: “To see the numbers in the GDI Report reflect how the tides are turning, however inconsistently and slowly, only heightens my drive to see accelerators like Banijay Launch continue. This study confirms that without intervention, we are far away from seeing the equity in the industry we all are striving for.”