Emmy 2022 nominations: Where are the women?
The most prestigious celebration of the television industry, the Primetime Emmy Awards felicitate the who's who of the tinsel town. The 74th edition of the extravaganza will take place on September 12 in Los Angeles (September 13 IST). Before the honors are announced, let's analyze if the Emmy Awards pass the litmus test and address the profound, rampant gender disparity in the industry.
Why does this story matter?
Female representation is an oft-debated topic in showbiz. Numerous times, women have spoken up about being sidelined or recounted the times when they were simply offered "eye-candy" roles. There have also been multiple instances of them being paid a substantially lesser amount than their male counterparts. While it's still easier to find female actors, representation in departments such as production or direction remains negligible.
Only 35% of non-acting department nominees are women
The Women's Media Center 2022 Report has revealed that just like the past editions, less than 40% of nominations in the non-acting categories this year are women. In 2022, 33% women received nods (barring actresses), while the percentage was 32% in 2021. So, an improvement, but only barely. However, this time, 35% of editing nominees are women, compared to a meager 25% last year.
Male nominees are far ahead of their female counterparts
As many as 2,357 people have been nominated in 93 non-acting categories, out of which 784 (33%) are women, 1,572 (67%) are men, and one (less than 1%) is a non-binary person. If we compare these statistics to 2021, of the 2,337 people who bagged nominations, 757 (32%) were women and 1,580 (68%) were men. Hence, the difference between both genders is acute.
More women in the direction department this time
The direction department, predominantly a male-dominated field, has witnessed slight improvement. Around 15% women are in the running in this category in 2022 as compared to 12% last year. Further, the 10 most-nominated shows boast of at least one woman nominated as a producer, writer, editor, director, or actress. However, Hacks is the only one to have a female showrunner and creator.
A quick glance at the Emmy nominations this year
The 2022 Emmy Awards witnessed the highest number of submissions ever and HBO outpaced other networks/platforms by a substantial margin. Succession bagged the highest (25) nods while Squid Game entered the annals of history books with a record of 14 nominations—the maximum nods earned by a non-English show. Zendaya scripted history as the youngest producing nominee and the youngest two-time lead acting nominee ever.
