Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee

What is the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Committee?

The MU is committed to achieving equality for all musicians, and continues to celebrate the diversity of the music industry and raise awareness of equality issues through the work of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (ED&I).

The committee promotes equality and discusses many areas including:

• Equality and diversity issues relating to musicians working across the music industry
• Celebrating and encouraging diversity, promoting equality and challenging inequalities
• Developing, implementing and reviewing the MU’s equality and diversity strategies
• Developing and reviewing equality and diversity negotiations on an industrial scale
• Raising awareness of equality and diversity issues through events and publications.

The MU attends the Trade Union Congress's (TUC) four annual Equality Conferences, where they are able to submit motions on a range of issues from parental rights to opportunities for Global Majority musicians and greater provisions for mental health services. The MU has addressed equality and diversity issues through a series of events that raise awareness, promote debate and instigate change.

These issues are not something we just discuss once a year during history months. The MU works throughout the year on points raised in the discussions and develops strategies and campaigns to highlight and deal with the problems.

Find out more about our ED&I work

Standing for the ED&I Committee

The nomination process for members wishing to stand for election to MU ED&I Committee takes place every two years. Successful candidates will sit on the committee for a two-year term from April.

Joining an MU committee is an opportunity for you to get involved in shaping the Union’s policy on issues that matter to you. Being on an MU committee will:

• Give you experience of the Union’s policy and decision-making processes
• Develop you as an activist
• Enable you to create meaningful change that helps you and others
• Connect you with other members and Union staff
• Provide opportunities to network with the wider music industry and decision-makers

How the ED&I Committee is formed?

The ED&I Committee is formed by democratically elected MU members. The committee brings together four different equalities communities:

• Members from the Global Majority
• Disabled members
• LGBT+ members
• Women members

There is a maximum of 20 seats on the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee. If there are more applications than available seats, a ballot of members will take place to establish the 20 successful candidates. Successful candidates will have a place on the committee for the next two years.

Qualification

To qualify for an ED&I Committee seat, candidates must be:

• From at least one of the four communities which make up the committee: members from the Global Majority, Disabled members, LGBT+ members and Women members
• Nominated by any fellow MU member.

What happens after nominations?

Once the nomination deadline has passed, the qualifying applications for each committee are counted.

• If there are 20 or fewer qualifying applications for a committee, then all qualifying applicants are automatically elected to the committee and are notified accordingly.
• If there are more than 20 qualifying applications for a committee, there is a ballot. This means an election will be held to select the 20 successful applicants.

Commitment

Members of the ED&I Committee are elected for a two-year term.

Committee members are expected to attend three to four meetings each year, some of which will be held online and others in-person.

Members are not expected to devote excessive amounts of time to committees, but attendance at meetings and input on specific issues is much appreciated and useful.

The MU makes every effort to ensure that our committee meetings are accessible to all members. If you have any questions about access requirements please contact equalites@themu.org

Fees and expenses

When a member attends a committee meeting they can claim a committee meeting allowance.

If a member loses earnings as a consequence of attending a committee meeting and needs reimbursement they can claim ONE of the options below:

• The committee meeting allowance.
• A claim for loss of earnings (which needs to be evidenced).

A committee member can only claim loss of earnings OR a meeting allowance, but not both.

In addition, where a member is required to attend a meeting in-person, reasonable expenses (for example, travel expenses) will be covered.

Reserved Seats Policy

A reserved seats policy is in place for the ED&I Committee, as follows:

• 5 seats for Women members
• 5 seats for members from the Global Majority
• 5 seats for Disabled members
• 5 seats for LGBTQ+ members

The 5 highest polling candidates in each reserved category will receive the 5 seats available. Where one of the 5 highest polling candidates in a category has already received a seat via a different category, the next highest polling candidate will receive the seat.