Internal DGC BC EDI Programs and Initiatives

Diversity & Inclusion Committee
Since January of 2019, the DGC BC’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee’s work has included initiatives such as:

• the launch of our Diversity-Based Digital Lending Library,
• creation of a list of inclusive holidays and events to be celebrated in our Ebulletin and on Social Media,
• offering diversity and inclusion training and resources, and
• assessing sponsorships and donations that assist in manifesting the culture shift that we are actively working to create in our industry and our world.

In addition to the above, the Committee holds a strong and consistent focus on the need for an inclusive workplace to be a truly safe workplace. Without this crucial work being done in parallel, any sort of systemic change cannot succeed. We know that in workplaces where an unsafe culture exists, diverse workers from all underrepresented groups are among the most likely to be targeted and the first to leave.

All of this plays into the greater work of the DGC BC to attract new Members from within the many underrepresented groups in our industry, as well as to support them through facilitated mentorship and staff involvement. Our concrete goal is to have our Membership reflect a more accurate representation of the population of our province and our world.
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Diversity-Based Online Members Library
In October of 2020, we launched our Diversity-Based Digital Lending Library. In recognition of the enormous amount of learning that’s involved in this type of culture shift, we curate and maintain a selection of books intended to help our Members learn to navigate the new landscape as it emerges.

Book selections include:

• Indigenous Relations: Insights, Tips and Suggestions to Make Reconciliation a Reality by Bob Joseph
• Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally by Emily Ladau
• So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oulo,
• The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole,
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo,
• Minor Feeling: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong,
• Unreconciled: Family, Truth and Indigenous Resistance by Jesse Wente

A full reading list can be found here. 
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Anti-Oppression Training with Bakau Consulting
Our Diversity and Inclusion Committee offered Fundamentals of Anti-Oppression, an online workshop to DGC BC Members at no cost, in collaboration with Bakau Consulting.

Bakau Consulting is a full-service equity, inclusion and anti-racism consulting company based in Canada, with a global, intersectional approach. Fundamentals of Anti-Oppression dives deeper than your typical diversity and inclusion workshop. Participants are given the opportunity to explore systemic oppression, social justice, privilege, identity and allyship through self-reflection, community-based inquiry, lessons from history and collaborative problem solving.

This workshop was available to Members in Good Standing until December 17, 2023. 
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Diversity Initiatives for Director Members
In the Fall of 2019, the DGC BC launched a campaign called Just Watch Us to promote and market our many talented Director Members. In conjunction with that launch directors.ca, very much like Google for finding Directors, went live.

In 2021, directors.ca was expanded to the National organization and opened up to the full roster of Canadian Directorial talent making it an even more robust and valuable hiring tool. 

directors.ca was built with diversity, voice and vision in mind. The DGC BC has secured a special program from the BC Human Rights Commission that allows us to gather and share information about a person’s self-identified diverse characteristics for the purposes of hiring. We are now seeking an extension to this special program that will allow the same self-identification to extend to all categories of the DGC BC.
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Permittee Logbook Holder Equity Stream
The DGC BC has an Equity Stream for people from underrepresented groups that are seeking membership through our entry level Permittee Logbook Holder Program. The Equity Stream provides additional support to folks from underrepresented groups in the form of an augmented orientation and one on one mentorship. The Equity Stream also defers the requirement that a person have completed 30 days of work before they can join our regular Permittee Logbook Holder Program. Participating Productions have the option to hire an additional Trainee Assistant Director (TAD) or Trainee Assistant Location person (TAL) with a simplified permit process and providing there is no displacement of the existing TAD or TAL. This offers those who’ve come in through our Equity Stream a unique and valuable training opportunity to assist them in accelerating their career growth.

Currently for participants to join the DGC BC Equity Stream they must be hired by an employer with an equity program in place. This requirement will shift soon. We have now received approval from the Human Rights Commission for our extended Special Program. We will update when we have more information regarding the launch of the program.
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Revised Gender Markers
In August of 2021, the DGC revised its internal gender markers to include, support, and honour those within our community who do not fall into binary, male and female, genders. Members can now elect to be designated gender non-conforming, or they can choose not to respond.
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Diversity Resource List
A list of EDI educators, facilitators, consultants and other resources can be found here. This list will be updated as new resources become available.
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Diversity Glossary
A glossary of EDI related terms can be found here.
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External DGC BC EDI Programs and Initiatives

Creative Pathways - DGC BC Seat on Governance Committee
The DGC BC has held a seat on the Governance Committee of Creative Pathways since its inception in 2019. We were the first union to partner with the Creative Pathways program and begin enrolling Creative Pathways participants in our own Equity Stream.

This work is foundational to the expansion of our workforce to include more people from underrepresented groups, creating a membership that is a more accurate reflection of the population of our province.
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Joint Diversity and Inclusion Committee with the AMPTP and CMPA
As a result of collective bargaining, the DGC BC has formed a joint Diversity and Inclusion Committee with the Employers, represented by the AMPTP and CMPA, to consider and assess the existing composition of our membership from a diversity perspective.

This collaborative committee will review and analyze:

• Training programs required for membership and advancement
• Employment conditions and qualifications set by the Employer to identify any barriers and develop initiatives to tackle them
• Identification and removal of barriers to entry across all job classifications
• Recruiting initiatives including outreach and education, opportunities for experience in production and career opportunities in all classifications
• Feasibility of a Television Director Development program unique to BC to support diverse emerging DGC BC Directors

This committee arose from the 2021 round of bargaining and is aimed at considering ways that both the DGC BC and the Employers can best support the greater EDI work that’s being done within the industry.
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