Streaming Shows Have More Major Female Characters Than Broadcast TV, Study Finds
Selome Hailu During the 2020-21 TV season, a study found that streaming companies put more women in positions of creative power than broadcast networks did, though broadcasters featured slightly more women as major characters in their shows. But a year later, that same study has found that streamers now beat out networks on both fronts by slight margins. The study, titled “Boxed In,” has been run by Dr. Martha Lauzen, executive director of San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, for 25 years now. Lauzen also conducts the yearly studies “Celluloid Ceiling” and “Thumbs Down: Gender and Film Critics, and Why It Matters.” Boxed In” considers one randomly selected episode of different series appearing on the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW) during primetime and streaming services (Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock). In 2021-22, the study tracked over 3,000 characters and more than 3,800 production credits, adding to a total of over 53,000 characters and 66,000 credits since the study began during the 1997-98 TV season.