Be Counted! Guild Unveils First-ever Member Demographic Census

Dear Members,

Last night at our Winter Membership Meeting the Guild’s Diversity Committee introduced our first-ever union-wide diversity and inclusion census. It is a brief and anonymous demographic survey designed to collect the data necessary to help make our newsrooms and our workplaces better reflect our communities. Most importantly, it will provide us with a broad baseline against which to measure the results of employer efforts to hire, retain and promote traditionally underrepresented groups in our workplaces. 

We know very few employers are successful in deliberately creating inclusive and equitable workplaces. Media in particular is notoriously homogenous, not only in newsrooms, but in the ranks of senior managers who determine which stories matter. Whether or not you work in a newsroom, the Guild is committed to holding employers accountable. But we need your participation. Please email diversity@nyguild.org with your name and workplace to receive the census link.  

As a union, the most effective tool we have to enact change is the work we do together. Let’s take the lead in transforming our workplaces and reshaping the industry for the better. Let’s make sure every member is counted. Once this critical baseline is established, we will report on the results and utilize the data to inform contract language and push for new industry standards in hiring and retention. 

Please take a few moments to fill out the census. Your responses will not be linked to you personally or provided to employers. We’re seeking to get a more complete picture of demographics, such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and age, as well as salaries, job satisfaction and more, all of which we can use both for advocacy and in bargaining.

To get the census link, please email diversity@nyguild.org. If you have questions or are interested in learning more about the Diversity Committee, please reach out to the committee. 

In Unity, 

Susan DeCarava,
President 

The Guild Diversity Committee