AceShowbiz - Julie Burton, President and CEO of the Women's Media Center, announced the release of the organization's 2026 report on gender and non-acting Emmy nominations, revealing that women have reached 35% of nominees in these categories, matching a previous record high. Men still dominate with 65% of the 2,635 nominees across 102 behind-the-scenes categories for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards.

The report, titled "Women's Media Center 2026 Report: Gender and Non-Acting Emmy Nominations," shows a slight increase from last year's 33%, but Burton emphasized that the Emmys remain a "male-majority club."

"While the increase in nominations is encouraging, the Primetime Emmys continue to be a male-majority club where men receive the largest share of the nominations and, ultimately, the awards," Burton said. "Women as nominees in these key non-acting categories have never exceeded 35%."

In the combined fields of producing, directing, writing, and editing, women's representation rose to 36%, a decade milestone. Burton noted, "In 2026, women's representation increased by 4 percentage points in the combined fields of producing, directing, writing, and editing. This percentage — 36% — is a decade milestone for women. In 2016, women in these combined fields represented only 25% of nominated producers, directors, writers, and editors. We encourage the industry to continue this trend at a much faster pace so that women can be given equal footing in all roles behind the scenes in television."

Jane Fonda, WMC Co-Founder, added, "There's an abundance of talented, creative women who are producing outstanding television programming yet too often are overlooked for this prestigious award. Their artistry and excellence in everything from directing to costume design deserve high professional recognition."

The report also highlights that six categories have no women nominees at all, a significant improvement from 13 last year, though cinematography remains the field that most frequently excludes women. Janet Dewart Bell, WMC Board Chair, said, "Meaningful, sustainable change is achieved by doing the really hard work and making room for progress to take place. Many of these non-acting roles have been historically dominated by men. But, with our collective efforts, we can achieve gender parity."

Among the top eight most-nominated shows, Hacks stands out as the only one centered on women characters with women showrunners. Burton praised the series, saying, "A show like Hacks, with women showrunners and focusing on women's stories, is a model of how equity and excellence are a winning combination. Now that Hacks has completed its run, we need to see more shows like this."

The report also notes notable inclusion milestones. Black women achieved half of the six nominations for Outstanding Direction for a Drama Series, with Salli Richardson-Whitfield earning three nominations as an executive producer and director for The Gilded Age and director for Task. Quinta Brunson, creator and star of Abbott Elementary, remains a rare Black female showrunner with multiple major nominations. Latinas Selena Gomez of Only Murders in the Building and Desiree Perez, executive producer of The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny, are among the few nominated. Asian American women nominees include Kristen Kish and Doneen Arquines from Top Chef, Tracy Tong from Top Chef, Mandy Salangsang from RuPaul's Drag Race, Claudia Shin from Widow's Bay, and Ali Wong from Beef.

Despite these gains, the report points out that LGBTQ representation is still dominated by shows led by men, and no women showrunners over 60 were nominated in major non-acting categories. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards are set to take place in Los Angeles on September 14.