“What makes this unique initiative is that while some organizations in the cultural sector have strategies or action plans, none have actual policies,” said Joan Jenkinson, CEO, Black Screen Office. “The Framework stresses that policy comes first. Without it, strategies and action plans risk moving in different directions, losing coherence, or collapsing under pressure. Policy is the grounding that makes actions sustainable.”
The Framework sets out 25 adaptable policy considerations that tackle hiring, leadership, authority, accountability, and representation. It is a flexible guide for organizations ready to move from statements of intent to institutional change.
Across Canada’s arts and culture sector, the gaps are stark. Black professionals hold only 2% of cultural board seats despite making up 4.3% of the population. In music, 98% have never applied for grants, and nearly 9 in 10 who did were denied. In the screen industries, fewer than 3% occupy top creative roles such as showrunner or executive producer. Pay gaps, isolation, and discrimination remain common across sectors.
The Framework addresses the missing policy gap by helping organizations set clear principles, define accountability, and establish lasting standards that move beyond temporary initiatives or symbolic gestures.
This initiative is funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, Canada Media Fund, Creative BC, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Creates, and the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative through the Black Business Initiative. It was developed in partnership with ADVANCE Music Foundation and the Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO).