The Writers Guild of America West have released “sobering” findings of a survey investigating levels of sexual harassment among the union’s members.
The WGAW found that 64% of female writers had experienced harassment at some point in their career, along with 11% of male writers. According to a memo circulated to members, the guild said it was committed to finding ways to “eliminate” such misconduct.
“We aim to ensure a respectful culture with zero tolerance for bullying, harassment and assault; we want a culture which enables victims to speak up in a safe way that takes their experiences seriously,” it said.
The survey found that a “significant amount” of the harassment occurred in writers’ rooms particularly prevalent in US sitcom production. The memo continued: “We are exploring the possibility of a series of member conversations about standards for a successful writing room.
“By proscribing sexual and other harassment among writers, these standards would enable all the writers in the room to fully participate, rather than being alienated by treatment no one should have to experience. These conversations would also address situations that arise for screenwriters in professional meeting settings.”
The memo invoked the California Supreme Court ruling in 2006 known as the “Friends” decision after the comedy of the same name, which ruled that sexually explicit talk in a writers’ room did not amount to sexual harassment. This was often, said the WGMW “mistakenly used to justify inappropriate behaviour in the workplace”.
“The decision acknowledges that the creative environment of a writers’ room may come with crude talk. However, the decision does not permit such talk to be aimed at an individual in the room.”
A separate survey published in February found that 94% of women working more widely in the entertainment industry had experienced sexual harassment or assault.