Can we afford to make "diversity" a dirty word? - Check out our Behind the Scenes Report

I am excited to share the latest Behind the Scenes: The State of Inclusion & Equity in TV Writing report.

https://www.writeinclusion.org/research

This year, TTIE partnered with Horowitz Research to reveal what's blocking writers from creating the diverse, authentic stories audiences are demanding. The business case is clear: 65% of audiences want diverse, authentic stories, and nearly half would drop companies that pull back from DEIA. But systemic barriers persist.

The report examines where inequities hit hardest:

Workplace discrimination is widespread: About half (45%) of all survey respondents report having experienced microaggressions, harassment, discrimination, or bullying at work at least occasionally. 39% of those asked said these incidents were perpetrated by their showrunners, and 47% said the perpetrator was another writer.
Payment disparities in development: Writers who have developed projects for studios or distributors are more likely to be paid than those who have developed for PODs (59% and 80%, respectively, vs. 27%). However, there is a remarkable disparity in terms of who gets paid for development and who doesn’t: 42% of historically excluded writers reported mostly unpaid development by studios versus only 19% of non-marginalized writers.
Showrunner advancement gap: Only 49% of historically excluded writers in development say that if their project were greenlit, they would be made showrunner, compared to 79% of non-marginalized writers in development.

These aren't just statistics—they're the concrete inequities TV writers navigate daily. But this report is also a roadmap. It's a tool for:

Writers navigating their careers and advocating for themselves
Showrunners and executives seeking concrete ways to build better rooms
Agents and managers wanting to be stronger advocates for all their clients
Changemakers seeking areas of intervention and opportunity

I hope you find it helpful in your work! If you would like to share with your networks, the link is WriteInclusion.org/research.

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Comments

Anna Gallup

There's a lot to digest here, thanks for all the effort put into this report. As someone entering her third career path (exploring different writing avenues!), I was particularly interested in the sections around securing employment. Believing in yourself is key, but only part of the equation.

Meghan Dubitsky

I agree, there are some really eye-opening sections around the trickle-down effects from the overall decline in employment opportunities since the strikes, hiring practices leaning toward already established personal connections, and how the lack of funding to DEI writers programs has impacted historically excluded writers.

Is there a statistic or a specific section that surprised you?

Corey Sienega

For me an interesting takeaway is that by not putting an emphasis on having creators and writers and studio executives that reflect audiences (current and future), not only are we as an industry leaving money on the table, but we aren't setting ourselves up with a sustainable industry.

Franklin Leonard (The BlckLst) and Richard Rushfield of the Ankler had an interesting discussion on this last week that I believe is on FranklinLeonard.com now. Worth a watch.