What Is an Inclusion Rider and Why Was Frances McDormand Talking About It?

The most talked about moment from the 90th Academy Awards was Frances McDormand’s acceptance speech. McDormand won Best Actress for the second time in her career, accepting the award for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Her acceptance speech was an inspiring moment for the crowd, especially the other female nominees.

Overall, it was somewhat of a tough night for women at the Oscars. Most of the awards, as usual, went to men. And, the only women in major categories (like Cinematography and Directing) went home empty-handed. But, McDormand’s speech was about encouraging Hollywood to become more diverse, and she ended with something that confused a large chunk of the audience.

Inclusion Rider? Inclusion Writer? What?

The Internet was sent into a frenzy over what an Inclusion Rider (or writer) actually is, so here’s what she was talking about. A rider is an addition to a contract with some sort of condition for doing the work. So, an Inclusion Rider aims to ensure that film productions observe racial and gender equality in hiring on film sets. This includes the cast and crew.

The point is — movie stars can make equality happen faster in Hollywood if everyone demands Inclusion Riders in their contracts. McDormand talked about Inclusion Riders in her backstage interview and revealed that she only found out recently about their existence.

So, do you think Inclusion Riders could fix Hollywood’s diversity problem? Let us know in the comments.

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