Reprinted from The Los Angeles Times by Anousha Sakoui on October 13, 2020.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which represents film and television crew in the entertainment industry, said Tuesday it would expand its diversity committee and hire a consultancy to improve representation in its ranks.
IATSE said in a statement that it has remade and expanded its international diversity, equity and inclusion committee, which had its first meeting September 29, to ensure that it represents a cross section of the union. The committee now totals about 30 members representing a range of crafts. The union also said it has hired the L.A.-based consultancy Right Size Media, led by former CBS diversity and inclusion executive Catrice Monson, to help it become more inclusive.
Crew members from film editors to makeup artists and costume designers have complained about how the lack of diversity in Hollywood’s unions inhibits their access to the industry. IATSE’s move follows criticisms this summer from high-profile Black and Latino stars about the lack of diversity in the union’s ranks as well as nepotism and disparities in pay and hiring. …
