While accepting her Academy Award for Best Actress in 2018, Frances McDormand shouted out a word that set the internet aflutter: Inclusion Rider.
In a 2019 Femtastic Oscars Edition podcast, Katie interviewed one of the co-authors of the inclusion rider, law partner in civil rights and employment, Kalpana Kotagal, to introduce us to the concept. An inclusion rider is a clause added onto a contract, and usually an A-lister's contract, that requires diversity both on-screen and off in the hiring for Hollywood productions.
Today, Kalpana and fellow co-author Fanshen Cox, head of strategic outreach at Pearl Street Films, join the podcast to give us an update on how the Inclusion Rider has changed Hollywood since 2018. Hint: You've probably watched a film or TV show that was produced using an inclusion rider. ;)
What successes have they had in building the inclusion rider into productions? What challenges and push-back have they encountered, and where do we go next? How can those of us that don't work in Hollywood support the inclusion rider, both via the entertainment we consume AND how we bring the principles of the inclusion rider into our own organizations?
LINKS:
- Color of Change's Inclusion Rider Explainer Video
- Kalpana and Fanshen's Refinery29 op-ed on the latest version of the Inclusion Rider
- Kalpana Kotagal on Twitter: @KalpanaKotagal
- Fanshen Cox on Twitter: @Fanshen
- Cohen Milstein on Twitter: @CohenMilstein
- Pearl Street Films on Twitter: @pearlstreet