ITV head of comedy Saskia Schuster is putting a stop to all-male comedy writing teams at the British broadcast channel, making it a mandatory requirement for all of the network’s commissioned shows to hire female writers.
Schuster announced the decision at Channel 4’s Diverse Festival in Bradford, England, on Monday.
“I won’t commission anything with an all-male writing team,” she said at the festival, according to the BBC, adding that she had consulted writers, producers, agents and performers before making the change.
Reps for ITV did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
ITV’s contracts now require shows that are commissioned or recommissioned to “aim towards 50:50 gender representation,” Schuster said.