The COVID-19 crisis and recent Black Lives Matter protests have laid bare the racial, class, and gender disparities that exist in law enforcement, healthcare, labor, and well, everywhere. As lockdowns lift and we begin rebuilding, those disparities must be reckoned with and reforms must be enacted — and Women In Film, Los Angeles (WIF) is leading the way. According to a press release, the organization has introduced the Hire Her Back Initiative, a multimedia campaign pushing for employers in the industry to reach gender and racial equality on film and television projects that are returning to production.

“Hire Her Back will call attention to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women and people of color, as well as highlighting the extraordinary talent of women in the screen industries,” per the release.

According to the Labor Department, women’s unemployment was over two percentage points higher than men’s in May. Black women and Latinas have seen higher rates of unemployment than any other group. And, in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis, women regained employment at a much lower rate than men, and it seems that could also be the case for women returning to work as pandemic restrictions lift. In the entertainment industry, about half a million jobs have been lost due to the coronavirus.

As part of the Hire Her Back campaign, WIF is teaming with New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) and Women In Film and Television Atlanta (WIFTA) to raise money for the Hire Her Back Fund, which will provide grants to women in the screen industries whose livelihoods have been impacted by the pandemic. ShivHans Pictures founder Shivani Rawat has contributed seed funding.

The Actors Fund will disburse the Hire Her Back grants. Information on how to apply will be available early next month.

“With the increased commitment to parity across the entertainment community in recent years, we are seeing an uptick in the number of women working in front of and behind the camera. We cannot lose this important momentum because of entertainment job losses related to the COVID-19 crisis,” said Amy Baer, WIF Board President.

Added WIF Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer, “With the convergence of a pandemic and the national uprising in defense of Black lives, it must be made clear that current market structures have to be transformed if we are serious about creating equity. We call on leaders to join us in building a new normal that prioritizes equity and career sustainability for women, especially Women of Color, in the screen industries.”

Head over to WIF’s website to learn more about Hire Her Back, or to contribute to the Hire Her Back Fund.