Friday, November 20, 2020
IATSE's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Hold Elections for New Executive Committee
IATSE Cares: After its reconstitution and first meeting in September, the IATSE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee held elections on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 to choose officers to sit on its new executive committee.
The IATSE DEI executive committee consists of two Co-Chairpersons, a Secretary and six Members-at-Large. In creating this executive committee, the officers will establish and prioritize actionable goals for the committee through open forum and outline the committees’ next steps for action.
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2 comments:
I feel conflicted about this news. I am glad that something is happening, and that these two accomplished and capable people are in charge of IATSE’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. On the other hand, I am confused and dismayed that it took until September to convene a committee, and that it took another two months to elect officers. Maybe more has happened in the intervening time, but from this article, it seems like the gears of change are grinding unbelievably slowly. After clicking around a little on the News page of the IATSE Cares site, I found another article from October announcing that they had formed the committee and hired an agency to help them with diversity efforts. I am unconvinced that this top-down approach is going to be effective. I have heard about bottom-up, local-led DEI initiatives that feel more useful to me. That said, leadership is leadership, and this executive committee has the opportunity to set the tone and expectations for the entire union.
I’m glad that IATSE is taking steps in the right direction. I hope this new committee will push the union in a meaningful way to establish a more progressive IATSE that is truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive. I know there’s been a lot of talk about racial diversity this year, which there definitely should be. While I want IATSE to tackle any racial biases to make itself an anti-racist organization, I also want to make sure IATSE tackles the sexism and misogyny rampant throughout its organization. We, as an industry, do not do enough to welcome women and often make it inhospitable to them. I am hopeful that this committee led by two women can do that. I am a little skeptical of this because I’ve seen many a committee formed and have that result in no meaningful change, but the cynic in me will reserve judgement for a bit.
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