The number of Writers Guild of Canada members identifying as diverse and who are working has increased steadily from 21 percent of the guild’s membership in 2018 to 38 percent in 2022, with that growth put down to more writers from underrepresented communities joining the organization.

But the bad news from the WGC’s 2023 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Report, which was unveiled on Wednesday, is only 35 percent of writing jobs industry-wide went to diverse members in 2022, as non-diverse writers were more likely to have more than one TV gig, whether as members of a story room or being tapped to write a pilot.

And that percentage of jobs going to diverse writers last year was down from 41 percent in 2021. “Representation levels decreased or remained stagnant across multiple diverse groups during 2022,” the WGC report stated.  

The Canadian industry’s continuing drive for more diverse and inclusive storytelling has aimed to create new opportunities for local creators from underrepresented communities and has led to breakout TV shows like CBC’s Sort Of and Global’s Robyn Hood, an action drama that reimagines the English legend of Robin Hood.

The recent backsliding has been seen in other areas of the Canadian industry. As an example, black women, Indigenous women and women of color have lost ground in efforts to find work and leadership roles in the Canadian film and TV production sector, according to the Women in View’s On Screen 2023 report that measures progress in achieving greater racial representation in hiring practices for the Canadian industry as local film and TV funders make good on commitments for greater diversity and inclusion on film and TV sets.

The WGC 2023 report covers 87 local TV series, including animated projects, that were produced in 2022, and another 368 series that were shot between 2018 and 2021. The Canadian writers guild found that, despite the good intentions of local broadcasters and funders, diverse screenwriters have been held back by “stagnant work opportunities,” including the impact of mini-rooms and continuing barriers that mid-level diverse screenwriters face in nabbing senior roles in writers’ rooms.

“Most programs are still failing to launch careers and help writers to get a better standing in the industry,” the WGA report said amid cross-industry setbacks or a lack of growth in the face of ongoing initiatives to drive greater diversity and inclusion on local film and TV sets.

Other obstacles to advancement for diverse writers are an industry-wide reduction in the number of TV shows ordered by local broadcasters as they face increasing competition from U.S. streamers expanding north of the border and the ongoing impact of cord-cutting and a soft advertising market.

“In live action, the number of episodes produced has declined across the board. In animation, the number of half-hour episodes has suffered a steep decline,” the WGC report stated.

Stalled momentum for diverse screenwriters was also seen in writing credits earned last year. “People of color saw a decrease in representation from 15 percent in 2021 to 13.5 percent in 2022. The share of credits going to black writers also decreased from 5.6 percent in 2021 to 4.1 percent in 2022,” the WGC report stated.