The Unseen Women of Star Trek: DIRECTORS

Directors are among the top decision makers when it comes to what we see on screen, but this powerful position in the entertainment hierarchy has long been reserved for men.
Unfortunately, Star Trek is no different. Out of 13 movies and more than 750 episodes, ZERO movies and only 41 episodes have been directed by women -- 18 by women of color.
Ugh.
While there may not be as many as we'd like, let's celebrate the relentless women who did manage to climb to the top of the artistic chain of command and bring their visions to the world of Star Trek.
P.S. What? You haven't seen the first two posts about women writers and producers for Star Trek? Rectify!
P.​P.S. Most of the info below was drawn from imdb.com, memory-alpha.fandom.com, and linked interviews. While I've done my best to be thorough, I admit my fallibility and welcome corrections. The vast majority of women credited with working on Trek have little to no information available about them, and photos are even more scarce. Also, shorts, video games, books, comics, and fan-made media are not included.

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It may have been with the convoluted designation of second second assistant director (a tier below the second assistant director), but Brenda Kalosh was the first woman ever to have the word "director" anywhere in her title while working on Star Trek. Starting out on the series premiere of TNG, she oscillated between "second second" and second assistant director (managing all of the backstage logistics) throughout the first half of season one. Her other assistant director credits include working with sci-fi legend Joss Whedon on his shows Dollhouse, Firefly, Angel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
​Photo from IMDB

It wasn't until TNG's third season that Trek made history with its first female head director (let's hope the fact that the episode was named "Booby Trap" had nothing to do with it). Altogether, Gabrielle Beaumont's nine episodes across three Trek shows -- including such favorites as TNG's "Lower Decks" and Voyager's "Blink of an Eye" -- account for nearly a quarter of all women-directed episodes.
​Photo from IMDB

While you probably know her from Voyager as B'Elanna Torres, you may not know that Roxann Dawson was also the first woman of color to direct for Star Trek. Starting with the sixth-season Voyager episode "Riddles," Dawson ultimately directed twelve Trek episodes (two Voyager and ten Enterprise), more than any other female director. In addition to Trek, she's worked as director or producer for more than 50 TV series, including House of Cards, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Scandal.
Photo from IMDB

In 2018, more than fifty years after Trek first aired, Hanelle Culpepper directed "Vaulting Ambition" for the first season of Discovery, becoming the first Black woman to be lead director for anything Star Trek. But she wasn't done making history just yet. After directing another Discovery episode, she directed the first episode of Picard, becoming the first female director ever to launch a series. In total she's directed five episodes of Trek, plus more than 40 other shows including Gotham, Rosewood, and Supergirl.
Photo from IMDB

When it comes to the series with the highest number of female directors, Voyager wins the prize with 5 out of 31. However, if judging by percentage, Discovery tops out at 25% (4 out of 16). Let's see what next season brings!
Looking for more women behind the scenes? Charter a shuttle and join us next time for post number four, The Unseen Women of Star Trek: Music & Sound.