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Amazon sets out inclusion guidelines

Amazon Studios has unveiled an inclusion policy to bolster its commitment to diversity, as well as an accompanying playbook that offers guidelines for content creators.

Jennifer Salke

The inclusion policy targets four areas of the US tech giant’s operations: developing stories and characters, hiring and production, reporting and documentation and meeting goals.

It also includes specific goals for Amazon Studio productions, including an “aspirational goal” for women and members of an underrepresented racial/ethnic group to make up 50% of creative teams by 2024.

Other parts of the policy include:
• Casting actors whose identity (gender, gender identity, nationality, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability) aligns with the character they will be playing.

• Aiming to include one character from each of the following categories in speaking roles, with a minimum of 50% of these to be women: LGBTQIA+, person with a disability, and three regionally underrepresented race/ethnic/cultural groups. A single character can fulfil one or more of these identities.

• Seeking at least three bids from vendors or suppliers on productions, one of which must be from a woman-owned business and one from a minority-owned business.

• Pay equity across casting, behind-the-camera staff and crew, and for vendors and suppliers.

Amazon Studios will conduct a report into each production to assess whether these policies have been met, which will be submitted within one month after principal photography has ended.

Meanwhile, the inclusion playbook sets out specific guidelines and practical advice to help Amazon Studios staff meet the expectations of the inclusion policy.

This includes direction on how to make inclusive decisions while telling authentic stories and hiring the best people for the job, and knowledge of where to go for help.

To produce the policy and playbook, Amazon Studios worked with Dr Stacy Smith and Dr Katherine Pieper of USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, and with Brenda Robinson of the International Documentary Association and Gamechanger Films.

The studio also consulted with organisations devoted to advancing the visibility and responsible depictions of underrepresented or marginalised people, including GLAAD, Illuminative, Think Tank for Inclusion & Equity, and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said: “With the establishment of our Inclusion Policy and Inclusion Playbook, Amazon Studios has committed itself to being a thought and action leader in the transformation of our industry.

“We know how much work there is to be done to improve representation both on camera and behind the scenes, and it starts at home, with us. With clear directives and a commitment to accountability, these guides provide a path toward a more equitable future, both on and off camera.”

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