SAG-AFTRA Statement on Diversity of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Los Angeles — The following statement has been released by SAG-AFTRA:

SAG-AFTRA is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow creative industry guilds and unions, industry allies and all inclusion advocates in calling on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to establish a more inclusive membership that truly reflects the extraordinary diversity and variety of the global media industry they purport to represent.

Without inclusive membership, they miss the opportunity to truly honor creativity and excellence among a vast and dynamic global industry of talented storytellers and stories. It's a big, diverse world and if the HFPA is to remain relevant in today's media environment, it must fully embrace inclusion among its membership and across its operations.

From Black Lives Matter and the #metoo movement to our own diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, we fight every day for a more equitable and just society. By now, we all should understand this fundamental point: It is basic human decency to ensure inclusion on set, on screen, in front of and behind the camera, in boardrooms and in the very fabric of our everyday lives. SAG-AFTRA urges our industry’s institutions to step up and hold themselves accountable for true, meaningful change in all aspects of their work.

As our colleagues across the industry say TIME’S UP. The time for change is now.

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.