Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Actors’ Equity Releases Report on Diversity and Inclusion

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Actors’ Equity Association (Equity) has issued a report tracking the demographics of how its members are hired for acting and stage management work, and how much they were paid during 2020. The study, entitled Theatre at a Crossroads: Hiring Bias and Wage Gaps in 2020, found that there were persistent job and pay gaps for its members of color. It also revealed that male workers were paid more than their female and nonbinary counterparts for the same amount of work.

“We are disappointed by the realities of the data: while there was some incremental progress here and there in 2020, the theatre fell far short of fulfilling its promises of diverse and inclusive hiring,” said Kate Shindle, president of Equity. “We call on everyone who makes hiring and pay decisions in the theatre to demonstrate their commitment through their actions as well as their words.”