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Tuesday, February 08, 2022
On Our Team Launches Pay Equity Tracking System
AMERICAN THEATRE: The advocacy group On Our Team has developed a tool designed to help theatre companies establish pay equity within their organizations and to provide public recognition for equitably paid theatre.
2 comments:
John Alexander Farrell
said...
Equal pay is vital when it comes to theatrical jobs. For one, and I know we hear it a lot, everyone in the production is equally valuable. No one is above anyone else. Sure, in terms of who reports to who (and who works with who) there is a pre-established hierarchy. Nevertheless, for production to actually work everyone must pull their part. Thus, making the leap towards pay equity is exciting. “The Pay Equity Standards, as a pathway to both establish and recognize equitable pay, is a step towards livable wages, removing the economic barrier to a career in the arts, and a thriving arts community,” said co-founder Theresa Ham in a statement. Not only that but the incentive to be “certified” as a theatre is, from a business perspective, incredibly innovative. It is also great to hear that said certificate must be renowned on a yearly basis– keeping up the incentive to continue the labor of equity pay.
Establishing a standard for equitable pay for theater makers is crucial. I think this is a great way to incentivize theater to provide its employees with an equitable salary. Regardless of what someone’s position is, providing a livable wage helps establish the importance of all roles (and is the bare minimum to any job). I love that this gives agency to consumers to support productions that align more with their beliefs. I am excited to see how this first step of On Our Team’s plan towards equity helps push the industry and what they will do moving forward. However, I am a bit skeptical at the success of this program. Since there are issues with organic and fair-trade labels, such as mislabeling and false advertising, I am wondering how On Our Team is handling this. Also in the spirit of transparency, I hope they have outlined explicitly what pay equity looks like to patrons.
2 comments:
Equal pay is vital when it comes to theatrical jobs. For one, and I know we hear it a lot, everyone in the production is equally valuable. No one is above anyone else. Sure, in terms of who reports to who (and who works with who) there is a pre-established hierarchy. Nevertheless, for production to actually work everyone must pull their part. Thus, making the leap towards pay equity is exciting. “The Pay Equity Standards, as a pathway to both establish and recognize equitable pay, is a step towards livable wages, removing the economic barrier to a career in the arts, and a thriving arts community,” said co-founder Theresa Ham in a statement. Not only that but the incentive to be “certified” as a theatre is, from a business perspective, incredibly innovative. It is also great to hear that said certificate must be renowned on a yearly basis– keeping up the incentive to continue the labor of equity pay.
Establishing a standard for equitable pay for theater makers is crucial. I think this is a great way to incentivize theater to provide its employees with an equitable salary. Regardless of what someone’s position is, providing a livable wage helps establish the importance of all roles (and is the bare minimum to any job). I love that this gives agency to consumers to support productions that align more with their beliefs. I am excited to see how this first step of On Our Team’s plan towards equity helps push the industry and what they will do moving forward.
However, I am a bit skeptical at the success of this program. Since there are issues with organic and fair-trade labels, such as mislabeling and false advertising, I am wondering how On Our Team is handling this. Also in the spirit of transparency, I hope they have outlined explicitly what pay equity looks like to patrons.
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