What's New > USITT Releases First Demographic Study of Live Entertainment Technology and Design Workforce
Establishes Definitive Baseline for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Goals Across Industry
Finds COVID-19 Impacted Nearly Three-Quarters of Respondents
(LIVERPOOL, N.Y. — Sept. 15, 2021)
— The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) today released the findings of a sweeping national study to better understand the demographic makeup of the technical theatre workforce. This is the first study of its kind to take an in-depth look at who is working in the entertainment design and technology industry.
The 2021 Entertainment Design & Technology Workforce Demographics Study (WDS) was conducted by SMU DataArts, a research organization that has been collecting workforce demographic data for more than a decade.
“USITT and many of our partner organizations along with corporations, universities, and producing entities across the country have a stated goal of creating and sustaining a more diverse and inclusive workforce,” noted USITT Executive Director David Grindle. “But while we have found many studies that look at demographics of performers and art support organizations, we could not find any that focused solely on the workforce in design, technology, and management.
“We felt that USITT should fill that void,” Grindle said, “and establish a baseline from which our industry can measure the effectiveness of equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.” [...]
MEDIA CONTACTS: Mark Blackmon, mark@usitt.org, 800-938-7488 and Jenn Shuron, jenn@usitt.org, 800-938-7488