Actors' Equity Association Responds to Demands for Transparency with Diversity Report

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, theatre makers are taking to the streets on Thursday, April 22, to demand change in the industry.

The March on Broadway comes in response not only to stories of workplace abuse from producer Scott Rudin as reported in The Hollywood Reporter, but also the issue of transparency from the Actors' Equity Association and the overall lack of representation for the BIPOC, AAPI, Trans, Non-Binary, and gender-nonconforming communities that have come to light during the shutdown.

Of the demands outlined by the group is is a full list of organizations that AEA is working with to help Black, Indigenous, and POC feel safer, in addition to a full report of how the 2020 Equity dues were spent and what percentage is being spent to help conversations around diversity. Now Equity has responded with the following statement:

Actors' Equity Association is committed to working collaboratively with the industry to create a landscape that is just, inclusive, and anti-racist.

To that end, we've partnered with grassroots organizations and consultants who specialize in understanding and uplifting people of marginalized people with strategies that are tailored to the unique circumstances of a theatre workplace. Below is a non-exhaustive list of several of the organizations with whom we have worked in the last year. Among them, at least six organizations are led by people of color, seven are led by women, one is led by a trans person, and one is led by a person with disabilities.

While we cannot share our core responsibilities to the members as a union, like contract bargaining and grievance investigation, we welcome collaborations for member engagement events, public industry talks, and long term, member education programming. You can read write ups about the events in the Diversity & Inclusion Blog and you can find videos of the events behind the member portal. If there is a group you think Actors' Equity should team up with - or an org that would like to include a representative from Equity in an event or conference line-up - we invite you to email diversity@actorsequity.org. We welcome the opportunity to explore new relationships, and the Diversity Department staff will be glad to help.

Public Industry Events
Broadway Advocacy Coalition

Industry Think Tanks
Broadway Advocacy Coalition
Line Drawn

Onetime collaborations for member events
B. Fli ProductionsBOLD

Ongoing member education collabs:
Claudia Alick @ Calling Up Justice
Chelsea Pace & Laura Rikard @ Theatrical Intimacy Education
Kaja Dunn @ Kaja Dunn Radical Equity Consulting
Josie Kearns @ Josephine Kearns Consulting