Strong, unfiltered, unapologetic women on television is something viewers are seeing more of.

Yet even as females takes on more roles outside of the typical wife, mother, daughter, girlfriend and mistress stereotypes, there’s still a lot of work to be done on the gender equality front, both behind the camera and on the screen, according to panelists Thursday at the Drama Summit West 2018 conference in Los Angeles.

One such example came from producer and writer Kayla Alpert, whose pilot False Profits was picked up by ABC. Starring Vanessa Williams, the show is set in the world of cosmetics marketing—where subjects such as beauty and boyfriends are far from the girls’ minds.

But on set, Alpert was surprised at how often many of the actors were apologizing for not saying a line quite right; for striking the wrong tone.

If they were sorry for being late or unprepared that would be one thing, but “they were apologizing for their hard work,” Alpert said.

She told the cast she was no longer accepting such apologies.

“I think a lot of the actresses came out of it feeling very strong and empowered, and very nurturing of each other,” she said.

Over at BBC America, Nena Rodrigue, head of original programming, acquisitions and production, said the network also drew a line in the sand by saying at least 50 half of the directors on a show should be female.

“Because you have to start somewhere,” Rodrigue said.

And then, even when women score strong leading roles, there can be challenges with how they are actually presented.

For instance in Killing Eve, a cat-and-mouse thriller starring Jodie Comer as a psychopath known as Villanelle and Sandra Oh as a security officer obsessed with catching her, there was a lot of attention placed on how they were portrayed.

“Particularly Villanelle, because she could be seen as a femme fatale, who is almost always sexualized,” Rodrigue said.

Actor and director Constance Zimmer struggled with how she would come off to the world in her role as Quinn on Lifetime’s UnREAL.

“Whether you’re a writer, a director, an actor or playing a character, it’s about taking control of that voice and using it for the betterment of others, not just yourself,” Zimmer said.

It’s also refreshing when men get it right.

On The Handmaid’s Tale, producer and writer Bruce Miller made it a point to make sure the room was nearly all female, said Jessica Scott, director, content development Hulu.

When female led shows actually get through the system and land in the public, they get “embraced so often,” Rodrigue said. The Handmaid’s Tale, Veep, you could go on and on.”

Scott agreed.

“In this marketplace where we’re always seeking in a unique, fresh voice, and a lot of time I feel like this comes from those historically underreported people in the media.”

That’s also a focus for the next generation of producers, including Steven Adams, partner and head of management division at Buffalo 8 Productions.

“I see the value in groups that have been ignored since the beginning of the 21st century,” he said. “Women’s voices and various ethnicities are coming forward.”

With more than 500 shows currently on the air, it’s also a challenge to come up with distinguishing stories, and producers are turning to new markets that incorprate diversity.

“There’s the fact that the entire of content of Africa is going to have connectivity by phone in the next two to four years,” Adams said. “That’s going to be the next big frontiere.”

Indeed, the future of television is moving toward international content, said Alon Aranya, executive producer and writer at Paper Plane Productions, especially as business models change.

No matter what company you are today and what studio, in the years to come there are going to be a lot mergers, and you are either going to be brought by another company, or will be buying and expanding,” he said. “But no matter what, you will have to be producing for a global audience.”

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