The WGC Diversity Committee stands in solidarity with the Black community in its struggle against racialized police violence. We recognize that the Black Lives Matter protests unfolding across the US, Canada, and the world are part of a larger struggle that has been happening for hundreds of years. We are in solidarity with the cause of dismantling the system of white supremacy in all parts of our lives. We also recognize that as an institution that occupies Indigenous land, the Guild is part of systemic racism, unless we too actively work to dismantle it. We recognize that we do not have enough Black members and the historic barriers to get into writing rooms are real.
As a Writers Guild volunteer committee, our focus is screenwriters. Our mandate is to help promote the voices of Indigenous people, People of Colour, the LGBTQ2S community, and people with disabilities within our Guild, to raise awareness and break down barriers for our members who fall into any of the intersectional identities.
The Diversity Committee's ongoing initiatives supported by the WGC staff include:
- The Diversity Script of the Month program that connects diverse screenwriters with industry leaders
- Diversity Mixers that provide diverse screenwriters with one-on-ones with showrunners, producers and broadcast executives
- Relaxing requirements and waiving WGC initiation fees for diverse screenwriters to join the Guild
- Developing diversity self-identification tools on our online Membership Directory to help producers and showrunners looking for diverse talent
- Outreach at film and TV festivals and events
However, WE WILL DO MORE to improve representation of diverse screenwriters in Canadian TV writing rooms and rosters.
The committee is embarking on a much-needed project to collect staffing data from recent TV seasons, as a snapshot of the industry's inclusivity, or lack thereof, and as a way to help hold the Diversity Committee, the WGC, and our industry as a whole, accountable for creating meaningful change.
If you are a BIPOC screenwriter or ally and want to contribute to the discussion, we encourage you to do so by responding to this post or contacting the WGC directly.
This is your guild. This is your committee.
Black writers matter. Black Lives Matter.
Diversity Committee, Writers Guild of Canada
Marsha Greene, Chair
Alejandro Alcoba
Jeremy Boxen
Morwyn Brebner
Noelle Carbone
Vivian Lin
Elan Mastai
Jinder Oujla-Chalmers
Christin Simms
Nathalie Younglai
