To: Tery Lopez, Director of Equity & Inclusion for the Writers Guild of America West
Release My Data
Dear Director Tery Lopez,
We demand you release our data to researchers at Harvard for an unbiased and scientific review of discriminatory behavior in our profession. You denied these researchers access against our will. We demand to know the truth, and you are supposed to represent us. Grant them access to the data and let them do the work.
Sincerely,
Members of the Screen Writers Guild
Why is this important?
Screenwriters are under-recognized and under-rewarded for their contributions because the work happens early in the production process. Minority and female writers face the largest barriers to credit and pay.
Fortunately, the Screenwriters Guild has collected and archived many years of data on contracts, earnings, and credit decisions. These data hold the answers to our questions! These data have the power to reveal what policies can improve the bargaining position of writers, and equity among writers! Have challenges to credit been handled fairly? Have our policies to limit executive credit increased pay for writers? Are credit reviews really anonymous and giving equal treatment to females, males and non-binary writers? Are minorities credited equally for equal work, and paid equally too? These data must be released to an expert to find out! A Harvard professor has offered to analyze the data and produce a high-profile report on the topics we ask for, but Tery Lopez must grant them permission to access the data securely. Please join us in a movement to release our data for answers!
