December, 2015 Issue
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Gender Balance Among Designers

by Becky Raines

    Several studies analyzing the gender ratio of designers in the theater industry have recently been published, calling attention to a complex imbalance in the professional design world.
    Two specific studies, which are linked to at the end of this article,Becky focus on off- and off-off- Broadway theaters and LORT member theaters. The statistics are depressing. The League of Professional Theatre Women released a study in 2015 following women designers for off- and off-off- Broadway New York City productions. Their study covered 22 companies from 2010-15, totaling 455 productions. The average percentage of female designers ranged from a low of 14% (sound design, 2013-14) to a high of 79% (costume design, 2012-13). The next highest percentage of female inclusion occurs in scenic design, where 36% of scenic designers identified as female in 2012-13.  
Porsche McGovern surveyed LORT (League of Regional Theaters) design positions, collecting data from productions between 2009 and 2014. Published recently in an infographic on HowlRound.com, her data echoes the gap between costume designers and the other design disciplines.  Her survey covers 2223 productions, including lead and co- designers, but not assistants or associates. Women designers accounted for 28.2% of the total design positions. The lowest percentage of design positions filled by females was 8.8% (sound positions), while the highest (and the only percentage above 25%) was 68.7% of costume positions.
    These studies certainly bring interesting and alarming statistics to our industry’s discourse, highlighting especially the disparity between costume design and the other design areas. As an audience member and design student, these studies compel me to be even more aware of whose work I am appreciating when I see a show. In addition, they encourage me to be aware of the challenges facing young female designers, several of which are detailed in the article “Spotlight on Women in Lighting” in the Summer 2015 issue of TD&T.
    Opportunities for further study would be investigating Broadway demographics, the comparison of pay rates between female and male designers, the average number of shows designed per year (male versus female), and the inclusion of designers who do not identify within the gender binary. Also important would be expanding these studies to gender balances within technicians, electricians, carpenters, and other technical staff.
    These articles make clear the lack of an equitable gender balance in our industry and where our profession needs to improve. Understanding why the imbalance exists is an ongoing research opportunity that each of us can study in our productions and workplaces.

Becky Raines is a senior Theater major with a Media Concentration at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.


“Women Count.” The League of Professional Theatre Women sponsored this study of females in non-acting roles in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions: http://theatrewomen.org/women-count-2015/

McGovern, Porsche. “Infographic: Who Designs in LORT Theatres by Gender.“ Howlround.com:  http://howlround.com/who-designs-in-lort-theatres-by-gender

Besty Adams, Autum Casey, Victoria Fisher, Monique Norman, Vickie Scott. “Spotlight on Women in Lighting.” TD&T, Summer 2015. (58-67): http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hickmanbrady/tdt_2015summer/#/60