SoundGirls.org: I don’t know of a time prior to this pandemic that the entire entertainment industry was out of work. It’s very difficult to think of when or how we will get back to work, and the grim reality is that many of the companies with which we are accustomed to receiving work will not be there when “normalcy” returns. This means that when we do return to work, there will be more of us than available jobs.
4 comments:
Absolutely. This article makes some great points about why this is so important that I hadn’t thought about before. The theaters industry is our world, so we see it here, but this is an issue in all sorts of industries. The backstage jobs website has some great features where you have to list how much you will pay in addition to other requirements, and if you attempt to skirt the rules you get reported. It is amazing how the idea of money being a taboo subject has been perpetuated by corporations and we have just come to believe it. I like her way of thinking that salary should be a selling point, but I guess it is a function of supply and demand and if the theater industry can’t handle the number of people who want to work in the industry, the pay will go down. The article does mention that COVID is making it hard for theaters, but this issue should be in the limelight, COVID notwithstanding.
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. This is so important and absolutely must become the norm moving forward. It’s not like these companies don’t have a pay amount in mind when they post the job, they should be upfront and honest about that. I feel like I got lucky, because I started my freelance career in Boston, and we have a Facebook group called Boston Theater Freelance where a lot of theater companies will post gigs looking for workers. The moderators of that group have held every post to the standard that they post the pay and the tax status, and they do not allow any unpaid calls. Recently, they announced new code of conduct that will require posting that offer less than living wage to tag themselves as low wage jobs. That was a great safety net to know that I was getting a fair wage for my labor. I think more websites and companies that host jobs posting need to have similar policies and we as an industry need to start shaming companies that won’t be upfront about their pay. It only benefits the company to keep that knowledge secret and there’s no place for that anymore.
I cannot emphasize this enough. I really like to know where I stand financially before I apply for a job, because it will really save me a lot of grief and time. I really feel like this should be as normal as stating what the job duties entail. It’s nearly as important, if not more important. And also being transparent about this information prioritizes the hires more, which, that type of energy is needed in the workplace industry more. In general, starting to prioritize employees rather than employers in a workplace environment will make people want to work more, harder, and better for the company that employs them. It feels like common sense. When a sense of transparency in job postings, this type of energy is much more plausible in the actual workplace.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the line "openly discussing pay isn’t a taboo subject" that Elisabeth writes. Our industry is atrocious at equality when it comes to pay, not just within an institution but across disciplines and staff positions. This industry has relied on the backs of people 'suffering for their art', and takes advantage of those who are privileged enough to take less pay because they already have the money and resources to support themselves. Putting pay upfront in job postings is the bare minimum these companies need to do when searching. I would also take it a few steps further and require contract type (W2 vs independent contractor) as well as full staff pay transparency within arts organizations. I've already seen these discrepancies on job boards such as Offstage jobs, where there were drastic pay gaps between staff positions. For an industry that preaches the collaborative nature of theatre, it is clear that equitable collaboration doesn't extend to all those involved in the process.
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