Equity Statement

California Presenters recognizes the need for systemic change within the performing arts—both on and off our member stages. As a membership organization, it is our responsibility to lead by example, and to also encourage our members to hold themselves accountable, to transform our organizations into equitable spaces. Racism, gender bias, ableism, and homophobia are just a few of the issues embedded deep within our society; the arts are not immune to these issues and California Presenters knows that to create a more inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible performing arts field, we need to set measurable goals and take intentional actions. Intentional actions will need to be taken and measurable goals will need to be made.

To that end, California Presenters commits to the following:
  • We commit to acknowledging the land we are on and the Indigenous communities native to it at all major California Presenter meetings.
  • We commit to ongoing, mandatory IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Accessibility) and Anti-Racism training for California Presenter board members.
  • We commit to offering and encouraging participation in ongoing IDEA and Anti-Racism training for California Presenter members.
  • We commit to amplifying Anti-Racism resources for California Presenter members.
  • We commit to immediately removing any racist or blatantly discriminatory board member or member organization. A racist board member or member organization would be: an individual or organization that espouses notions of racial inferiority/inequality or demonstrates intolerance towards any racial group.
  • We commit to diversifying California Presenter board membership to represent the racial demographics of California. 
  • We commit to addressing access barriers beyond ADA compliance, including in physical and virtual spaces (i.e. our website, meetings, and conferences), such as adapting for a more neurodiverse membership, revising our website to be accessible to individuals with visual impairments, and ensuring that conference and meeting venues provide fully accessible facilities. We recognize this will evolve as awareness of accessibility needs expands.
  • We commit to presenting these actions and goals at California Presenters membership meetings as a method of accountability to ourselves and our membership organizations. 

In addition, California Presenters encourages membership organizations to commit to the following:
  • Acknowledge the land they are on and the Indigenous communities native to it at all performances, board meetings, and major staff meetings as a first step towards building relationships with Indigenous communities whose land they are on. 
  • Provide ongoing, mandatory IDEA and Anti-Racism training for board members, executive leadership, staff members, and volunteers, and to hire IDEA professionals to conduct these trainings. 
  • Provide bystander intervention training for board members, executive leadership, staff, and volunteers.
  • Implement equitable hiring practices including: creating equitable job postings, holding equitable interview processes, and making fair offers of employment. 
  • Program an increasing percentage of BIPOC artists each season, working towards programming at least 50% BIPOC artists each season.
  • Immediately address racist or blatantly discriminatory behavior from board and staff members in the organization. 
  • Never program a racist show. A racist show would be any that employs racist, stereotypical, and/or harmful imagery, characters, and/or metaphors. Removing or revising problematic aspects of performances is acceptable and encouraged. 
  • Never allow a rental to present a racist show on a stage controlled by your organization. 
  • Diversify board membership, leadership, and staff to represent the racial demographics of the organization’s region. 
  • Create equitable opportunities for leadership positions as they arise and be ever-mindful of opportunities to share power within and beyond executive leadership.
  • Adopt an ADA Plan and complete a Section 504 Evaluation on a regular basis. 
  • Evaluate access barriers beyond ADA compliance, including in physical and virtual spaces. (i.e. websites, online literature, virtual events, performances, and meetings), such as adapting for a more neurodiverse population, revising websites to be accessible to individuals with visual impairments, and ensuring that performance and meeting venues provide fully accessible facilities.
  • Provide a public equity statement to your community that outlines your equity goals and planned actions. 
  • Update California Presenters membership on your organization’s progress with each commitment during regular check-ins and  at California Presenter membership meetings. 

We know that change cannot happen overnight, and that undoubtedly, mistakes will be made. That should not deter us, however, from this crucial work. We ask for, and we offer, grace as we grow into more aware individuals and organizations, knowing that missteps and delays will be made as we work to unlearn our personal and systemic biases. California Presenters is eager to work with membership organizations to help them move towards their equity goals. We recognize that these commitments will evolve as awareness expands. 

​Read our Equity Statement Addendum, which includes resources and a glossary of terms, here. ​
Banner photo credits: Speakers and attendees from California Presenters 2018 Membership Conference