Equality Writes
Equality Writes is WGGB’s campaign to tackle inequality in the screen industries
Only 16% of working film writers in the UK are female, and only 14% of prime-time TV is female-written. These are just two of the shocking findings in a landmark report commissioned by WGGB and launched in May 2018.
The report, Gender Inequality and Screenwriters, was funded by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and authored by Alexis Kreager with Stephen Follows.
It spanned a whole decade and revealed that TV shows and films written by women in the UK flatlined during that period, with no consistent improvement in gender representation (read our summary of the key findings).
Below you can find out how we have been tackling this problem through our Equality Writes campaign.
Our Equality and Diversity Committee is currently in the process of assessing how we can expand this campaign to look at inequality amongst other under-represented writers in the screen industries. If you have any thoughts or suggestions please email them ED@writersguild.org.uk
What We Are Doing
We are calling on industry to work with us to effect positive change.
In the short term we called for public funders to pledge a 50/50 split between male and female-written films by 2020.
We want equality of opportunity for all under-represented groups, for example writers of colour, LGBT+ writers, writers with disabilities and working-class writers. We believe the release of equality data is essential, so we can broaden out our campaign and ensure that writing is a profession which is fair, equal and free from discrimination.
What you can do
Add your name in support of the campaign and see the list of supporters
Help spread the word on social media
Read the full research findings
Bookmark this page for campaign updates
Join Us
If you are a writer in TV, film, theatre, radio, books, comedy or videogames, then WGGB is your union – whether you have professional writing credits or are just starting out. By joining us you will increase our strength and influence, and become part of a campaigning union working hard for writers. Join online