Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Project Announces
New Cultural Sector Surveys and September 25th Pay Equity Summit
FREE at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington
Register: https://mahaiwe.org/event/berkshires-columbia-county-pay-equity-coalition-2024-summit/
Entry- and mid-level arts and culture workers in this region struggle to put gas in their cars, find decent housing, access basic healthcare, feed their families, and as a result, maintain their financial, physical, and emotional wellbeing. These challenges are more pronounced for people of color and other identity groups who have historically experienced oppression. The potential exodus of these workers from the sector and region has a destabilizing effect on institutions, diminishes artistic expression, and threatens the creative economy for which this region is internationally known.
One year ago, the Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Project released its findings, which dramatically tell this story with original data, the voices of workers themselves, and concrete recommendations for employers (to which Coalition members have committed themselves). The report received regional (Berkshire Edge, Berkshire Eagle, WAMC, NEPM) and national (NPQ, APAP, TCG) attention, and having grown from six to eighteen arts and culture institutions, the project is now a movement.
A second Pay Equity Summit has been announced for September 25th at 5pm, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center to showcase progress made and remaining barriers, according to employers and workers themselves. The findings will include the results of two brief follow-up surveys (below), case studies, and new regional and national data.
All are welcome.
Quotes:
“Even after ten years I have no retirement savings, and I’m still paying off college debt. I have no safety net. I’m sacrificing financial stability, along with my mental health. This is not sustainable.” – Anonymous entry-level arts and culture worker
“A lot of people assume pay equity will break the bank, but we are showing that it can be done using innovative practices from around the country, sharing strategies regionally, collectively working to expand funding and create new systems, and including entry- and mid-level workers themselves in the process in meaningful ways.” – A.J. Pietrantone, Deputy Director, Jacob’s Pillow
Our collaboration is conducted in the spirit of cultural humility and mutual learning as we work individually and together toward change. Our work currently focuses on changing internal systems, becoming more transparent with our boards, staff, and communities, and reporting our efforts at pay equity summits. Berkshires/Columbia County Pay Equity Project Coalition: Ancram Center for the Arts, Art Omi, Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Art Center, Berkshire Dance Theatre, Berkshire Museum, Berkshire Music School, Community Access to the Arts (CATA), Flying Cloud Institute, Hancock Shaker Village, The Hudson Eye, Jacob’s Pillow, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, The Mount, Susan B. Anthony Museum, Ventfort Hall, WAM Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival