A Productions’ Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) Policy
September 2022
Introduction
The purpose of this policy is to set out A Productions’ commitment to ensuring it is an equitable, diverse and inclusive place to work. It applies to everyone in the company, including senior management, employed and freelance staff.
Our Objectives
At A Productions, our over-arching ED&I goals are:
- To foster a truly diverse and inclusive team where there is no discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marital status (including civil partnerships), race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.
- To nurture and grow a workforce that is representative of all sections of society
- To ensure that everyone feels respected, comfortable and safe at work
Our Commitments
At A Productions, we are committed to:
Workplace
- Treating everyone in the team fairly and with respect, as well as creating a workplace culture that promotes these values. We will not tolerate any form of intimidation, bullying or harassment.
- Creating an environment where everyone can develop their full potential and talents, with individual differences and the contributions of all recognised and valued.
- Ensuring training, development and progression opportunities are available to all staff.
- Implementing reasonable adjustments to enable disabled people to work in or with our company.
- Ensuring an authentic voice in all our productions, which is achieved through building a diverse and inclusive creative team.
- Being transparent in regularly reporting back to staff on our progress in meeting our goals and actively encouraging them to share their views, thoughts and feedback.
Recruitment & Outreach
- Ensuring that people are selected for employment, promotion, training or any other benefits on the basis of their aptitude and ability.
- Actively seeking to increase the number of people we work with who are from groups/communities that are under-represented in the animation production industry, or in particular job roles.
- Reviewing all our formal and informal employment/hiring practices and procedures to ensure they are fair and help us to identify the best talent.
- Identifying and taking opportunities to increase the diversity of casting decisions
- Actively seeking to increase the diversity of our talent networks.
- Playing a role in helping to address the significant talent gaps and barriers to entry in the animation productions sector to support a strong talent pipeline.
Our Approach
At A Productions, our approach to delivering on these commitments includes:
Workplace
- Creating an internal mentoring programme to upskill current staff including opportunities to shadow staff and join workshops
- Providing unconscious Bias training and ED&I training for staff
- Hosting quarterly ED&I workshops to share updates on progress made on our goals and commitments, and to encourage staff to share thoughts, feedback and idea for future.
- Providing the opportunity for staff to take part in regular surveys on the demographic make-up of the team where they can give anonymous feedback on the company’s approach to ED&I.
Recruitment
- Sourcing external funding to combine with company investment to mentor and upskill people under-represented in the industry into both junior and senior roles. This model is being rolled out on all productions following initial success.
- Connecting and advertising with organisations that reach a wide range of people, including from under-represented groups/communities.
- Delivering free week-long animation workshops for entry level candidates. Applicants must have a proven interest in animation and no formal qualifications.
- Offering apprenticeships, internships and placement opportunities, through both accessing additional funding and teaming up with industry schemes.
Outreach
- Visiting local schools, FE colleges and universities regularly to talk about careers and opportunities in animation, offering interactive workshops, guided tours of the studio and work experience opportunities.
- Connecting and consulting with gatekeepers in Bristol’s creative/grassroots groups and then hosting events with these groups.
We will monitor the success of this policy regularly and review our progress at least once a year.
This policy is fully supported by the senior management of the company. Breaches of the policy may be regarded as misconduct and could lead to disciplinary proceedings.
Responsibility for implementation of the policy lies with Katherine McQueen, joint managing director of A Productions, and Hannah Murdoch, welfare and HR manager at A Productions.
If you would like to share any feedback or questions, please contact A Productions’ HR & Welfare Manager: hannahm@aproductions.co.uk
