The New York State Senate and Assembly have passed new landmark legislation: the TV Diversity Bill. Spearheaded by State Senator Marisol Alcantara and Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, the bill would “commit the state to incentivize companies to hire women and people of color to write and direct television in New York,” a press release announced. One of the core tenets of the legislation is a tax incentive to encourage companies to employ women and people of color behind-the-scenes.
The TV Diversity Bill is backed by the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), the Directors Guild of America (DGA), and all of New York State and NYC’s entertainment industry unions and their supporters.
Although the bill’s success in the Senate and Assembly is good news — and could set a precedent for other states hoping to add TV production to their local economies — it isn’t official quite yet. The tax credit must be approved by Governor Andrew Cuomo and added to the state budget. Luckily, the bill’s authors and advocates “are committed to seeing it through.”
“People in the TV industry have understood for years that enhancing the diversity of writing and directing improves the stories that appear on screen,” commented Lowell Peterson, Executive Director of the WGAE. “The missing link for policymakers has been putting money at the point of hire, and this legislation is an important step in that direction.”
According to a 2016 study conducted by Dr. Martha Lauzen of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, employment of women behind-the-scenes on TV has flatlined, without any significant progress over the past decade. The 2017 Diversity Report found that the amount of people of color working offscreen on television series has also stalled, and the number of non-white digital scripted show creators has actually decreased since 2016. Obviously, the TV Diversity Bill is much-needed not only in New York, but on television production sets everywhere.
Visit the WGAE website for more information on New York’s TV Diversity Bill.
