“It’s distressing,” says Nell Benjamin, whose comedy, The Explorers Club, was as funny as any show on Broadway last season and yet played at off-Broadway’s Manhattan Theatre Club. “Especially because most of the ticket buyers are women.” (She’s right—it’s roughly 70 percent.)

Of course, there are gender-related gaps at the top echelons of nearly every field of art—indeed, almost every field of life. But there are lots of reasons to think theater might be different. First, this season proved audiences love seeing women on stage. Audra Mcdonald, Kelli O’Hara, Sutton Foster, Idina Menzel, Michelle Williams, Estelle Parsons, Tyne Daly, and Rebecca Hall were most responsible for luring ticket buyers to their productions. As a result, the Tonys are already being talked about as the Battle of the Divas.

Secondly, every list of the most exciting American playwrights is top-heavy with women, including Annie Baker, Sarah Ruhl, Suzan-Lori Parks, Amy Herzog, Lisa Kron, Lisa D’Amour, and Lynn Nottage. Yet their work remains almost exclusively off-Broadway while at least one male member on the list, Will Eno, is enjoying his first Broadway run with The Realistic Joneses.

Thirdly, women are being warmly welcomed as directors of Broadway shows: Both Tony-winning directors last year were women, and among the 2014 tony nominees is Leigh Silverman for Violet. Many shows are also being “powered underneath” by women, as they fill slightly more than half of the stage manager positions.

Finally, many of the producers behind the Broadway shows are female. Theatrical producers play all sorts of roles: Some are in the actual development of a piece, and many others come in later to raise funds. That’s where Lorraine Ackerman Boyle finds herself, as one of the names attached to Mothers and Sons and Beautiful, The Carole King Musical. (The latter written by a man whose sketchy words, reviewers noted, contrast sharply with King’s moody and meaningful lyrics.)

When asked if it concerns her that those shows have strong female characters but were authored by men, Boyle says, “I truly never thought about that. Maybe I should. But basically, I’m looking for something that won’t lose my investors’ money.” Harriet Leve, who has been behind numerous shows, says, “I ask myself, first, do I respond viscerally, with enough passion to go out and raise money. And second, can it perform commercially?” Leve does have a strong feminist bent and points out that she has been involved with Ann (the Ann Richards play) and The Mountaintop, both penned by women.

Most of those putting up money feel comfortable with names they know, and, at this point, most of those names are male. (Even Bridges of Madison County was first offered to James Lapine.) Very possibly, entrenched—even if unconscious—bias can be broken down with more women in top positions. This last season, for example, the Roundabout Theater Company, whose executive director is Julia Levy, made a commitment to do shows that are at least about women. As Nell Benjamin says, “putting on shows takes a village, and a village full of women helps.”