Equity in Theatre

About Equity in Theatre (EIT)

Equity in Theatre (EIT) aims to redress gender inequities in the theatre industry by executing a multi-pronged initiative that will raise awareness and work to rectify inequities in the arts. Despite efforts to support and increase women’s creative efforts in theatre, the under-representation of women in key creative positions is a systemic, global problem, not at all unique to Canada, yet increasingly present here. The problem has repeatedly been identified, for instance, at the national level with the 1982 Fraticelli report, the 2006 Equity Study, and the annual surveys conducted since 2007 by PGC.

The most recent PGC Theatre Surveys found that women playwrights did not constitute even a quarter of the productions’ authorship in the past two seasons, even though they make up 50% of the Playwrights Guild of Canada’s membership base, and the numbers for women of colour were much lower yet. Based on these statistics, rates of representation for women playwrights on Canada’s stages have decreased since the 2006 Equity Study.

EIT aims to address and help improve this inequity. In order to do so, we have partnered with major associations in the industry including: PACT, CAEA, LMDA, and ADC. Play Development Centres have also agreed to participate, as with Kitchener’s Pat the Dog and Vancouver’s Playwrights Theatre Centre. We have also partnered with other organizations and associations, such as Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO), the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA), and Artists Driving Holistic Organizational Change (the Ad Hoc Assembly).

Check out our website for information on our upcoming Symposium in April 2015 at the Theatre Centre in Toronto!