Inclusion Rider

Frances McDorman
• “Ihave two words to leave you with
tonight,” Frances McDormand told the
audience at Academy Awards as she
accepted her Best Actress trophy.

•INCLUSION RIDER
• It’s,
essentially, a contract stipulation that
requires certain kinds of diversity in a film’s
cast and crew, such as racial and gender
balance.

• The concept of the inclusion rider was

introduced in 2014 by Stacy L. Smith, the
director of the Annenberg Inclusion
Initiative, which conducts comprehensive
studies on representation and diversity.  
• Smith’sidea was specifically designed to address
systemic inequality in Hollywood

• Her suggestions included balancing out background

roles so more female actors can find work, and
demanding that executives and studio heads at least
consider women when hiring directors for their films.
• 31 % of speaking roles in movies go to women

• 29 % to actors of color

• 4.2 % of women get to sit in the director’s chair.

OUTLIER SOCIETY
PRODUCTIONS
CEO Reed Hastings said he has no interest in the
idea of an inclusion rider. “We’re not so big on
doing everything through agreements,” he said.
“We’re trying to do things creatively.”