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