DGA claims little diversity hire in feature film progress has been made
According to a new report by the Director’s Guild of America, there has been little progress made in the scope of diversity through the last five years, and the total number of features being made has also dropped.
The report has found that women directed only 16 per cent of the films released since 2018, while non-white directors helmed 17 per cent. The number of DGA-ratified released dropped from 292 in 2018 to 162 in 2022, which is believed to have had an effect on the diversity statistics.
TV directing diversity has fared better, though, with 38% of episodes being directed by women and 34 per cent being directed by people of colour.
Lesli Linka Glatter, the union’s president, said in a statement, “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.
She 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.”
The last report, released in 2017, showed thateight per cent of films released between 2013 and 2017 were directed by women, while filmmakers of colour directed 13 per cent.
“Both groups experienced significant percentage fluctuation throughout the decade from year-to-year, but overall, the numbers remained consistently low,” the report concluded. “What we are not seeing is a steady upwards trend that would signal sustainable growth.”
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