A Report has found that the amount of TV shows directed by females has dropped in the past years.

Between 2013 and 2016 the amount of tv shows directed by females has dropped nearly 3%, with 24% of programmes directed by women in 2016, compared with 27% in 2013, according to Directors UK.

Andrew Chowns, the organisation’s chief executive, said the statistics showed a disconnect between the “warm words” used by broadcasters and production companies and their willingness to take action to make a change.

“We are really disappointed with the overall decline,” he said. “Since we did our first report into female directorial representation in UK television production, there seems to have been a lot of activity, it’s been a hot topic. But while the discourse, the tone is better, the delivery into action is not really there.”

Channel 4 came bottom with a 5.4 percentage point decline, while Channel 5saw a decrease of 2.9, and the BBC and ITV’s figures showed a drop of 1.8 and 1.5 respectively.

Factual programming had the biggest decrease of 10%, while children’s television also saw a large fall of 4.5%.

The report said: “It’s troubling that in their formative years, children are being provided with such an unrepresentative authorial outlook behind their TV programmes.”

The Directors UK report – Who’s calling the shots? A report on gender inequality among screen directors working in UK television – suggested that while broadcasters have launched initiatives aimed at promoting women, progress has gone into reverse.

“Broadcasters should be required to show evidence of initiatives undertaken year on year to improve diversity and inclusion, as well as presenting statistical results,” it argued. Directors UK also said broadcasters should pay a levy to fund investment in career access and development.

Chowns said: “Employers, broadcasters, commissioners and producers are all very risk averse when it comes to trying to new people – they fall back on people they know, which means that directing jobs continue to go to men. Left to [their] own devices, there isn’t the dynamic to change.”

The research showed direct action can work. Since the previous report, Directors UK and Creative Skillset have worked with the BBC continuing drama directors’ scheme, which teamed up-and-coming talent with more experienced directors. On Casualty, this resulted in a 15% increase in the number of episodes directed by women, while on Doctors and EastEnders, the figures were 16% and 7% respectively.

Tina Gharavi, a director who took part in a Directors UK and Creative Skillset programme, said that in her experience, women were invited to interview, but then told they did not have enough experience, before a man was hired at a similar level. “Their unconscious bias doesn’t let them take a leap of faith,” she said.

“[The director’s programme] was phenomenal for me […] when they saw I could do it, they had more trust. Then the producer could vouch for me, and that reference then meant I got my first full directing gig. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”

Chowns said evidence from the programmes was “the one positive note” from the report, and a shift in employment law to protect freelancers also had to be part of the solution.

“In the future, so many jobs are going to be freelance, and this sort of lawless informality persists. Lack of diversity is one of the consequences,” he said.