Study: More women, minorities being hired as TV directors

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A new study says first-time TV series directors are being hired at a record pace, with more minorities and women among them.

The study of the 2016-17 TV season was released Wednesday by the Directors Guild of America.

It found that the percentage of new ethnic minority directors has more than doubled since the 2009-10 TV season.

The guild says the percentage of women working as TV directors for the first time has nearly tripled in the same period.

In a statement, the president of the Directors Guild, Thomas Schlamme (Shla-Me), said these are signs of “meaningful improvement.”

He said hiring decisions that employers make now create a “pipeline” to help establish longer-term careers for directors.