Culture
13 Jul 18

Men Outnumber Women in Emmy Writing and Directing Categories

There was bad news for Ireland too, as we failed to secure any nominations

The gender imbalance has played a major role in the Emmy nominations for 2018. Or that is certainly how it seems.

Aside from the Writing for a Comedy Series category, women gathered only one nomination in most of the categories they share with men in this year's Emmys.

The 'Writing for a Comedy Series' list stands out for its higher representation of women. Stefani Robinson (Atlanta), Liz Sarnoff (Barry) and Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel) made it three out of five for women in this category.

On contrast, only Killing Eve showrunner Pheobe Waller-Bridge earned a nod in the drama section.

This is noteworthy given that the writing staff on five of the shows that are up for Best Drama – Westworld. The Americans, The Handmaid's Tale, Stranger Things and This is Us – feature at least two women among the writers, with The Handmaid's Tale and This is Us having 5 and 6 female writers credited respectively.

Women also received no nominations for Writing in a Limited Series.

Meanwhile, female filmmakers were even less represented in the direction categories. Only Palladino again received a nod in comedy for The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Meanwhile, The Handmaid's Tale's Kari Skogland was the sole woman to snag a directing in a drama series nomination, as was Portlandia's Carrie Brownstein in the variety direction category.

Not one woman received a directing nomination in a Limited Series.

Samantha Bee's talk show was the only one hosted by a woman to get a nod for Variety Talk Show, though women were well represented in the Variety Sketch Show category, with Amy Sedaris, Tracey Ullman and Sarah Silverman's series getting recognition.

In terms of the Irish showing, there is no one to cheer for. However, many publications have taken issue with the critically acclaimed Ridley Scott produced series The Terror being completely snubbed. That show starred Ireland's own Ciaran Hinds and John Lynch, as well as Jared Harris, son to the Irish legend, Richard Harris.