AES Diversity and Inclusion Committee sets goals
Posted on: Friday 19th of October 2018
Committee co-chair Leslie Gaston-Bird
The AES Diversity and Inclusion Committee co-chairs Leslie Gaston-Bird (Resolution V17.6, Foley across continents) and Piper Payne (interview, Resolution V17.2) detailed the AES’ ongoing efforts to improve diversity of its membership across genders and gender identities, races, physical abilities, ages and nationalities. While the initiative aims to grow the number of women in pro audio, it also targets an increased emphasis on the availability of funding and also geography, placing greater importance on the experiences of members from around the world, not just North America and Europe.
Panel members, from left: Terri Winston, founder and executive director, Women’s Audio Mission; Piper Payne, owner of Neato Mastering, AES Governor, and co-chair of AES Diversity and Inclusion Committee; Ezequiel Morfi and Agnieszka Roginska, AES president-elect.
The strength of the Audio Engineering Society comes from a diverse membership, according to Gaston Bird. “This makes us stronger, by having all of these influences.” Piper Payne pointed out that the Recording Academy recently announced an independent task force on diversity and inclusion. Led by Tina Tchen, that group is examining barriers and biases affecting women and other underrepresented voices in the music industry.
Terri Winston, executive director of the Women’s Audio Mission and a panelist at this Diversity and Inclusion Committee town hall event, remarked that the Recording Academy initiative has had swift results. She hopes to see similar success at the AES, which intends to ensure diversity across the organisation, on committees and the Board of Governors.
