Inclusion Riders 101

A reworked version of the original inclusion rider tool was recently released. It includes new policies that focus on accountability and hiring targets, and brings together civil rights, racial justice, and legal expertise to provide resources for increased representation throughout Hollywood.

Inclusion riders are additions A-List stars make to their contracts that require a production to hire a larger proportion of actors and crew that are women or people from underrepresented groups.

They were suggested as a solution to the gender equity problem by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and popularized when Frances McDormand said at the 2018 Oscars, “I have two words for you, inclusion rider.”

They make diversity part of the legal/contractual process rather than it remaining an opt-in or voluntary process, which could be used as a tokenizing stunt.

Issues: There are no standards, so the inclusion riders are arbitrary to each contract, and there are often no stipulations for how added cast will be portrayed or what level of crew will benefit.

There has been interest from actors including Brie Larson, Michael B. Jordan, and Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, but they have not yet been widely adopted.