Diversity and inclusion
Sedos is proud to be a founder member of London Drama Societies, which commits each member society to the following statement:
Collectively, we commit to take constant steps to be more inclusive and attract members and audiences reflecting London’s diversity. We will identify and remove barriers to create a safe and inclusive environment. We want everyone to feel empowered to participate, on stage or off. We want stories to be told authentically.
What is London Drama Societies?
In June 2020, in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the surge of the Black Lives Matter movement, Sedos published a Commitment to Change.
Sedos then joined with representatives from the leadership of Centre Stage and Geoids Musical Theatre to discuss ways we could make conscious and concrete steps to improve diversity and inclusion in our societies.
In June 2021, London Drama Societies was publicly launched.
London Drama Societies’ first three sets of template policies/guidelines are on Diverse Casting and Authentic Storytelling, on Equality Monitoring, and on Marketing and Outreach. These policies guide how Sedos works in these areas.
Equality monitoring
In June 2021, we also launched Sedos’ first equality monitoring form, which was created with London Drama Societies.
We know that, if we want to be accountable for the steps we are taking to improve our diversity, we need to be able to demonstrate if these steps deliver progress. We are committed to publishing data on our diversity at future AGMs so our members can hold us to account.
Pronouns
Our Trustees and Management Committee include their pronouns on the website and we encourage production teams to include pronouns on show pages, audition notices, cast reveals and programmes.
It is a small but easy way to be more inclusive and normalise discussions surrounding gender. In particular, it allows transgender and non-binary people to let others know which pronouns they’d like to be used, and therefore avoids them being misgendered.
It is a personal choice whether or not to use pronouns and we will never force anyone to share theirs if they don’t feel able, safe, or ready to do so. If someone lets you know the pronouns they’d like you to use to refer to them, please be respectful of this. And if you’re unsure when you first meet someone, it’s ok to ask.
Get involved in our diversity and inclusion work or give us feedback
Our work on diversity and inclusion is an ongoing project, with much more to do.
If you would like to get involved in this work, or if you have any other comments you would like to send us, please email equality@sedos.co.uk.
You can read Sedos’ full equality, diversity and inclusion policy here.
