David Letterman Hires Jena Friedman, 'The Late Show' Gains Second Female Writer

"The Late Show" has doubled its number of female staff writers with the addition of up and coming stand-up comedian Jena Friedman, rounding out the number of ladies in the writer's room to a solid two.

While no official announcement has been made, on Friday "The Late Show" tweeted a list of writers' Twitter handles, including Friedman's, as suggestions for Follow Friday.

According to Splitsider, Friedman's addition to the writing staff marks the first time in the show's 18 year history that more than one woman has been on staff. Friedman joins current writer Jill Goodwin, who was a longtime assistant on David Letterman's program before being hired as a writer in February of 2010.

The number of women in late night has often been a topic of debate in the comedy world. Most recently, a viral chart displayed the startling ratio of male to female staff writers on various late night shows in black and white. In 2009 former "Late Show" staff writer Nell Scovel dished to Vanity Fair about "sexist" and "hostile" working conditions on the show, and who could forget Jezebel's article about sexism on "The Daily Show" in the summer of 2010 that prompted the show's female staff to respond in defense of Jon Stewart?

A little more about Friedman -- she currently performs stand-up comedy in venues around New York City, has performed abroad and has an online presence with sketches on Funny Or Die and UCBComedy.com. Earlier this year we featured her interview with The Rent Is Too Damn High Party founder Jimmy McMillan.