TV & VIDEO - Dec. 15, 1988

The TV industry has received its report card on the progress for women on television, and the marks were “passing but still needs improvement.” The National Commission on Working Women released a report entitled “Ten Years in Prime Time: An Analysis of the Image of Women on Entertainment Television, 1979-1988,” which found that “the 1980s mark a decade of progress for women on television.” The study said 60% of female characters on the 25 top Nielsen rated shows in 1979 were portrayed as employed outside the home. By 1987, that figure had risen to 75%. But the study faulted TV shows for painting an unrealistically rosy picture of the types of jobs women hold.