Women Count

“Since 2014 we have asked: whose plays are being done, who is directing them, and how many women are being hired for theatrical off-stage roles in New York’s theaters beyond Broadway?”

RESEARCH PROJECT: Women Count

RESEARCH PARTNERS: Martha Wade Steketee, Women Count reports author; Judith Binus, Women Count project founder

COVERAGE: 2010-2019 (This is a report series and not an announcement of a single report.)

Each of our five reports published since 2014 covers multiple seasons of data. The first five reports cover the seasons 2010/11 through 2018/19 in various combinations. Women Count VI will include production data from the truncated 2019/2020 season.

The Women Count report series collects and publishes analyses of production credits to assess gender parity in New York Off and Off-Off Broadway hiring decisions. Since 2014 we have asked: whose plays are being done, who is directing them, and how many women are being hired for theatrical off-stage roles in New York’s theaters beyond Broadway? The goal of the report series is to change the conversation from anecdotes to action plans to support advocacy efforts on behalf of women playwrights, performers, and off-stage theater workers. Production-specific credits are collected from playbills (the source given highest weight), season announcements, theater web sites, published production reviews, on-line databases, and professional networks.

FINDINGS: Women Count V covers 2014/15 through 2018/19 and finds: three-quarters of plays are premieres or within five years of their original production; women playwrights range from 29% to 43%; women directors range from 40% to 55%; set designer credits are less than one third women, from 19% to 32%; women lighting designer credits range from 11% to 39%; women costume designers dominate, ranging from 71% to 75%; sound designer credits are one-fifth women (with wide variation among producing companies); and production stage managers, stage managers, and assistant stage managers are close to 70% women, reflecting national trends.