The percentage of women nominated in non-acting categories for Primetime Emmy Awards ticked up slightly to 35% this year, matching a previous record high (men garnered 65%). But many categories remain resistant to change, with women persistently shut out in some roles, according to a report released today by the Women’s Media Center.
For the 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, 2,635 people have been nominated in 102 behind-the-scenes categories. Of these nominees, 918 (35%) are women, 1,714 (65%) are men, and three (less than 1%) are nonbinary. Last year, 33% were women, 67% were men, and less than 1% were nonbinary.
“While the increase in nominations is encouraging, the Primetime Emmys continue to be a male-majority club where men receive the largest share of the nominations and, ultimately, the awards,” said Julie Burton, president and CEO of the Women’s Media Center. “Women as nominees in these key non-acting categories have never exceeded 35%.”
The total percentage of female representation increased in all four top non-acting Emmy fields: producing, directing, writing, and editing. Of the 1,412 nominees in these four fields, 511 (36%) are women, 898 (64%) are men, and three (less than 1%) are nonbinary. That’s compared to the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, when out of the 1,451 nominees in these four fields, 460 (32%) were women, 988 (68%) were men, and three (less than 1%) were nonbinary, according to the report, entitled “Women’s Media Center 2026 Report: Gender & Non-Acting Emmy Nominations.”
“In 2026, women’s representation increased by 4 percentage points in the combined fields of producing, directing, writing, and editing,” Burton said. “This percentage — 36% — is a decade milestone for women. In 2016, women in these combined fields represented only 25% of nominated producers, directors, writers, and editors. We encourage the industry to continue this trend at a much faster pace so that women can be given equal footing in all roles behind the scenes in television.”
Progress in female representation has been made in some Primetime Emmy categories for producing, directing, writing, and editing, but there are very noticeable decreases in other categories, such as Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, according to the report.
“There’s an abundance of talented, creative women who are producing outstanding television programming yet too often are overlooked for this prestigious award,” said WMC co-founder Jane Fonda. “Their artistry and excellence in everything from directing to costume design deserve high professional recognition.”
In six categories for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, there are no women nominated at all, though the report notes that this is a significant decrease from the 13 categories from which women were shut out at 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. Cinematography remains the field that shuts out women nominees the most frequently.
“Meaningful, sustainable change is achieved by doing the really hard work and making room for progress to take place,” said WMC Board chair Janet Dewart Bell. “Many of these non-acting roles have been historically dominated by men. But, with our collective efforts, we can achieve gender parity.”
When looking at the top eight shows that received the most Primetime Emmy nods this year, female-oriented shows with women showrunners are still very much in the minority. HBO Max’s Emmy-winning comedy series Hacks is the only show in this top eight list that is centered on women characters and has women showrunners. The show just completed its fifth and final season.
“A show like Hacks, with women showrunners and focusing on women’s stories, is a model of how equity and excellence are a winning combination,” said Burton. “Now that Hacks has completed its run, we need to see more shows like this.”
The report included an examination of inclusion:
Black women achieved a milestone this year by getting half of the six nominations in the category of Outstanding Direction for a Drama Series. Salli Richardson-Whitfield has three Primetime Emmy Award nominations in the same year: as an executive producer for HBO’s The Gilded Age and as a director for The Gilded Age and HBO’s Task. In addition, Quinta Brunson, the showrunner, creator, and star of ABC’s Emmy-winning comedy series Abbott Elementary, continues to be among the rare Black female showrunners with nominations in multiple major Primetime Emmy categories.
Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building co-star Selena Gomez (who is Mexican American) and NBC’s The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny executive producer Desiree Perez (who is Cuban American) are two of the few Latinas nominated this year as an executive producer.
Among the small percentage of Asian American women who are nominated in a non-acting Primetime Emmy category this year are Bravo’s Top Chef host/producer Kristen Kish, Top Chef showrunner Doneen Arquines, Top Chef executive producer Tracy Tong, MTV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race executive producer Mandy Salangsang, Widow’s Bay executive producer Claudia Shin, and Beef executive producer Ali Wong.
LGBTQ representation in the Primetime Emmy competition is still dominated by shows that are led by and starring men.
No women showrunners over 60 have been nominated in the major Primetime Emmy non-acting categories.
Here are the highlights from the four biggest non-acting fields:
PRODUCING: Among the top four fields, producing continues to be the category where women have the highest percentage of Primetime Emmy nominations. Of the 1,012 nominees, 409 (40%) are women, 601 (59%) are men, and two (less than 1%) are nonbinary. Last year, of 977 nominees, 361 (37%) were women, 614 (63%) were men, and two (less than 1%) were nonbinary.
In the category of Outstanding Drama Series, female representation had a notable 10 percentage point increase from the previous Primetime Emmy Awards. Of the 85 people nominated in the category this year, 33 (39%) are women, 51 (60%) are men, and one (1%) is nonbinary. By comparison, the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards had 86 nominees in this category, of whom 25 (29%) were women, and 61 (71%) were men.
The category of Outstanding Comedy Series had a significant percentage increase in female representation. Of the 113 nominees, 52 (46%) are women, and 61 (54%) are men. Last year, there were 106 nominated producers in this category, of whom 32 (30%) were women, and 74 (70%) were men.
DIRECTING: Even though the nine director categories collectively are nowhere close to achieving gender parity, there have been slight improvements this year. Of the 112 director nominees, 20 (18%) are women, and 92 (82%) are men. In 2025, of the 164 director nominees, 24 (15%) were women, and 140 (85%) were men. Male nominees outnumbered female nominees in all directing categories except one category where women outnumbered men (Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series), and two categories where there is gender parity: Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program.
WRITING: For the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, 117 people are nominated in the writing categories, of whom 37 (32%) are women, 79 (68%) are men, and one (less than 1%) is nonbinary. That’s a slight percentage increase from the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, where 167 people were nominated in the writing categories, consisting of 51 (31%) women, 115 (69%) men, and one (less than 1%) nonbinary person.
Men outnumber women in all writing categories except one: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, which has six shows nominated and gender parity among nominees.
This year, the number of women nominees dropped significantly for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, the writing category that has five shows nominated and the lowest percentage (17%) of women nominees. For the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, this category achieved gender parity: Four (50%) of the eight nominees were women.
EDITING: Men outnumber women in nominations in all the editing categories except two: Outstanding Picture Editing for a Single-Camera Comedy Series and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Multi-Camera Comedy Series, each of which has gender parity. The overall numbers of nominated women editors increased slightly from the previous ceremony. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards has 171 editing nominees, of whom 45 (26%) are women, and 126 (74%) are men. By comparison, the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards had 142 editing nominees, of whom 33 (23%) were women, and 109 (77%) were men.
The Women’s Media Center, co-founded by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem, works to raise the visibility, viability, and decision-making power of women in media to ensure that their stories get told and their voices are heard. It does this by researching media; creating original online and on-air journalism; training women to be effective in media; and promoting women experts in all fields through WMC SheSource.
