The world of comedy has historically been dominated by men, but British businesswoman Saskia Schuster is determined to reverse this trend. The director of comedy at the ITV television network announced a new move that aims to hire more women on her writing team and reduce the gender gap in the profession. Schuster announced that it will not produce any more programs with teams made up of only men, which at the moment are the overwhelming majority. ITV contracts will now include in more one clause stating that writers’ teams must point to gender parity.
Saskia Schuster founded the 50:50 initiative as a way to contribute to gender equality in screenwriters
In the same vein, Schuster recently launched the Comedy 50:50 initiative, a database aimed at connecting women in the field with the most job opportunities. He says that last year he realized it was necessary, noting that the majorities of comedies on his own network were almost entirely created by men and very few proposals from female writers came to him.
Female writers are not hired to be part of because they cannot compete with their male colleagues, who have typically accumulated more experience in the area. This is a reflection of a long tradition of men at the helm of comedy.
The ad affects several shows that are currently on the air of ITV, with teams mostly made up of male writers who will now have to add new members. Schuster stressed that the initiative is not simply aimed at hiring more women to meet a gender quota, but at implementing practical measures as a way to achieve more diversity.
The success of the comedy Fleabag, written and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, was used as a pro- and anti-measure plot
The news divided opinions in his home country and, of course, on the internet. While some see it as a threat to their jobs and producers claim not to find female screenwriters, this measure presents itself as an opportunity to open the door to new talent and have more variety of voices represented in the world of comedy, benefiting the growth of the industry. In this note:
