Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/216003
For Members D GROUNDBREAKING LGBT STUDY OF SAG-AFTRA MEMBERS SHOWS CONTINUED DISCRIMINATION espite improvements in workplace opportunities and conditions, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) performers still face continued discrimination, according to a study conducted jointly by SAG-AFTRA and UCLA's The Williams Institute, and announced at a Sept. 27 press conference during the inaugural convention in Los Angeles. The study, Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Diversity in Entertainment: Experiences & Perspectives of SAG-AFTRA Members, gives insight into how sexual orientation and gender identity influence performers' experiences working in the profession. It received financial support from the Screen Actors Guild-Producers Industry Advancement Cooperative Fund. "Despite being gay, some casting agents/directors won't even hire me for gay roles, because they don't feel I 'look' gay." — Survey Respondent According to the study, one-third of the more than 5,000 members who took the survey found that casting directors, directors and producers may be biased against LGBT performers. The respondents cut across the spectrum of SAG-AFTRA's diverse membership and included non-LGBT performers. Among the report's highlights: • More than a third of LGBT performers had witnessed disrespectful treatment that had also been noticed by non-LGBT performers. • Overall, 16 percent of LGBT respondents reported that they had experienced discrimination or harassment at some point in their working lives. Gay men were the most likely to report they have experienced some form of discrimination, with one in five reporting an experience (see chart at right). Bisexual actors were about half as likely to report discrimination as gay or lesbian actors. • Gender nonconforming gay and bisexual men were more likely to experience discrimination, as were men who were out professionally. • Only 29 percent of heterosexual performers have played a lesbian or gay role over the course of their career, while 58 percent of lesbian and gay performers and 33 percent of bisexual performers have. Some of the study's respondents believe that playing LGBT characters limited their chance at future casting opportunities. Actor and comedian Jason Stuart, national co-chair of the SAG-AFTRA LGBT Committee, said the nucleus of the study came from the formation of the committee in 2006. "As times were clearly changing in the world and in our country back in 2006, so were attitudes within our membership," Stuart 26 SAG-AFTRA said at the press conference. "We decided to start by finding out what was really going on: in audition rooms, in agents' meetings, on-set and behind the scenes where people make decisions about how they will go about pursuing a career in entertainment." Also participating in the press conference were Los Angeles Local Board member Parvesh Cheena and member Dalila Ali Rajah; SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President Gabrielle Carteris; SAG-AFTRA General Counsel and CAO Duncan CrabtreeIreland; National Director, EEO & Diversity Adam Moore; and The Williams Institute's M.V. Lee Badgett, Ph.D. For the study, the union partnered with The Williams Institute, a national think tank at UCLA Law School dedicated to conducting research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy. As a result of the study, delegates at the SAG-AFTRA National Convention also passed a historic resolution supporting LGBT members and their rights to equal employment opportunity and discrimination-free workplaces. "The union movement as a whole has made great strides in recognizing the equality of LGBT members. I'm proud that SAG-AFTRA and our legacy organizations have been at the forefront," said Traci Godfrey, national co-chair of the SAG-AFTRA LGBT committee. "Our work has resulted in recognition and resolutions passed by the AFL-CIO at its past two conventions recognizing diversity and the rights of LGBT members." To read the full report, visit sagaftra.org/eeodiversity. Above, a chart from the report shows that discrimination persists against LGBT SAG-AFTRA performers in their working lives. | Fall 2013 | SAGAFTRA.org 20-31_For Members_v3.indd 26 11/14/13 2:30 PM