At the Oscars last week, Best Actress winner, Frances McDormand promoted the notion of an “Inclusion Rider”. And though the term was first introduced by Stacy Smith, the founder and director of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, along with attorney Kalpana Kotagal, and producer and actor Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni, Frances McDormand’s speech has led to discussions on what the term represents and encouraged companies such as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Pearl Street company, and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society Productions to adopt inclusion riders in future production agreements for their movies.

The ‘Inclusion Rider’ contract will ensure diversity representation in films as it is a contract that demands inclusive hiring practice for women, the LGBT community, those with disabilities, and others from minority groups. Demanding diversity not just in the on-screen hires, but for the off-screen crew as well. The clause spreads responsibility so that control of the distribution of wealth, and the job market is decentralized, allowing the people who have previously borrowed their voices to the equality cause in Hollywood, to turn these concerns into action. Ultimately, this power shift will increase opportunities in the industry.

When Frances McDormand mentioned the term at the Oscars, she was extending the responsibility for equity in the industry to everyone in the room, to let the movie producers and Hollywood stakeholder realize that they are the ones with the power to enact this change.

The extension of the responsibility has taken place in various industries. One being the demand of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) to redistribute wealth. The Hollywood instance comes in two forms. The first is the protests and raising awareness—when big players in industries use their platforms to raise awareness about causes either through ads or sponsoring events for the cause—while the second is more action based where the organisation recognizes a gap for change within their chosen responsibility space and takes it upon itself to fill that gap. The latter is where inclusion riders stand.

Featured Image Credits: Mashable.

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