How social media is making the careers of many female comedy writers:
Consider Ilana Glazer, a New York comedy writer who, when she and writing partner Abbi Jacobson didn’t make it into the improv groups they wanted at Upright Citizens Brigade, decided to take their brand of girl-centric comedy to the web. "We said, ‘Eff this, we’re going to make material for ourselves,'" enthuses Glazer, the co-creator of the Broad City web series. That was 2009. The duo now have a deal with FX.
"In the old days, if you got a spot on Carson, your life changed forever," says Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show, who blogs at the Huffington Post. "That’s not true anymore. Do we even need those shows? I don’t think we do.” Women still represent just a fraction of writers on late-night comedy programs, and they only represent 8 percent of directors of Hollywood films. Any female comic knows the comedy industry is rife with sexism. But social media has opened up ways around these traditional paths.
The Dish 