TV & VIDEO - Nov. 12, 1987

The National Commission on Working Women released its annual report this week on women in TV--and for the most part the report finds the medium has turned a blind eye toward women. While women appear regularly in 90% of all shows on the 1987-88 TV schedule, the number of women appearing regularly in shows new to the schedule “marks a sharp downturn,” the report said. Of 43 leading roles in the new shows, 36 are held by men and seven are women, and 20% of new shows have no female characters whatever. But there is some change. The report added that “working class females and women in non-professional jobs are beginning to inch their way back on the screen after disappearing for more than a decade.”