In a move that brings us a tiny bit closer to equality in the workplace, ITV has announced its plans to no longer allow all-male writing teams in comedy, as well as banning writing teams with one token woman. Here’s all the info…

ITV’s head of comedy, Saskia Schuster, announced the news at an event about diversity in the media, and ITV confirmed it on its own website.
“Too often the writing room is not sensitively run,” Schuster stated, adding that “It can be aggressive and slightly bullying” in such environments. Inspiringly, Schuster is clearly trying to change that.
“The first thing I did was I changed my terms of commissioning,” she explained. “I won’t commission anything with an all-male writing team.”
In its own words, the ITV report on the news added this: “Last year Schuster founded the Comedy 50:50 initiative to get more women into writing for comedy, as well as creating an independent database of female writers, regular networking and mentoring opportunities. As part of the commissioning process, Schuster explained, writing teams must aim for 50:50 representation with the commissioner required to sign off on the make-up of writing teams.”
It’s great to see someone actively using their position to create opportunities for others. As we hear more game-changing news from the world of TV, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.