The representation of women in American television experienced a regression during the 2025–2026 season, declining across both on-screen roles and behind-the-scenes creative positions, according to a report published by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University. The study, titled “Boxed In” and led by researcher Martha Lauzen, analyzed more than 2,500 characters and over 3,600 professional credits to track employment and character trends across original streaming productions and broadcast television.
Decline of Female Creators and Directors in Streaming
The most pronounced drops occurred within original streaming series, where female creators saw their representation fall significantly. According to the San Diego State University report, women accounted for 24% of all series creators in streaming during the 2025–2026 television year, dropping from 36% during the 2024–2025 season. That drop reverses a previous gain that had seen creator numbers rise from 27% in the 2023–2024 cycle, demonstrating that the prior year’s growth was temporary rather than a sustained industry shift.
Broadcast television experienced a smaller downward shift in female creators, slipping from 20% to 19% over the same comparative period. “The number of women who crean programas en ambas plataformas es ahora menor que hace casi una década, en 2017–2018,” Lauzen noted regarding the multi-year decline.
Behind the camera in directing roles, women faced similar reductions. Female directors handled 22% of analyzed streaming episodes during the 2025–2026 term, down from 32% the prior year. In broadcast television, the share of female directors decreased from 18% to 16%.
This empirical research follows broader industry scrutiny regarding technical and creative hiring practices. In June, The Hollywood Reporter examined the slow pace of integration for women in technical television roles, a discussion amplified after social media users flagged a behind-the-scenes video from the third season of Euphoria featuring a predominantly male production crew surrounding star Sydney Sweeney.
Reductions in Major On-Screen Roles
The contraction extended directly to storytelling and casting on television screens. In streaming originals, female actors represented 44% of primary characters during the 2025–2026 period, marking a five-point drop from 49% the preceding year. Broadcast television saw a marginal shift, with women occupying 46% of major roles compared to 47% previously.
Age disparities further defined the character data collected across the 27-year history of the “Boxed In” project, which has cataloged more than 65,000 characters and 80,000 production credits since 1997. Across both platforms, speaking roles for women skewed heavily toward individuals in their twenties and thirties. Conversely, male characters with dialogue concentrated more heavily in their thirties and forties.
Female representation dropped sharply as characters aged past their thirties, whereas a comparable reduction for male characters did not manifest until past age fifty.
“The emphasis on the youth of the majority of the female characters puts the focus on their appearance, while men can age in a credible way until reaching positions of personal and public power, which normalizes the perception that men are, by nature, more powerful than women,” Lauzen stated.
Lauzen highlighted prominent exceptions such as Kathy Bates’s role in CBS’s Matlock and Jean Smart’s performance in Hacks, noting that older women leading complex narratives remain rare exceptions rather than industry standards.