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SoundCorps recognizes that adhering to the established laws and regulations around non-discrimination only goes so far to protect historically oppressed people and does very little to promote meaningful civil evolution. Therefore, SoundCorps also commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, and equitable community.


Definition Of Cultural Equity
Cultural equity embodies the values, policies, and practices that ensure that all people—including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race/ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion—are represented in the development of SoundCorps as an organization; the support of music industry professionals; the platforms SoundCorps has built for expression; and the fair distribution of programmatic, financial, and informational resources.

Acknowledgements
  • In the United States, there are systems of power that grant privilege and access unequally such that inequity and injustice result, and that must be addressed and changed.
  • Cultural equity is critical to the long-term viability of the music sector.  
  • We must all hold ourselves accountable, because acknowledging and challenging our inequities and working in partnership is how we will make change happen.
  • Everyone deserves equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic community.  
  • Artists and musicians inherently challenge inequities to encourage alternatives.
Modeling Through Action
To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, SoundCorps strives to…
  • Pursue cultural consciousness throughout our organization through substantive learning and formal, transparent policies.
  • Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and report organization progress.
  • Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, and advisory bodies.
Fueling Field Progress
To pursue needed systemic change related to equity, SoundCorps strives to…
  • Encourage substantive learning to build cultural consciousness and to proliferate pro-equity policies and practices by all of our constituencies and audiences.
  • Improve the cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership that reflects the full breadth of our community.
  • Generate and aggregate research related to equity within our organization to make incremental, measurable progress towards cultural equity more visible.
  • Advocate for economic development policy that promotes cultural equity.

SoundCorps Nondiscrimination Policy
SoundCorps prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, mental or physical disability, political belief or affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law in any aspect of the access to, auditions, or treatment of musicians and constituents in its programs and activities, in employment and application for employment, or in the recruitment of volunteers.

Furthermore, SoundCorps policy includes prohibitions of harassment of constituents, volunteers, and employees, i.e., racial harassment, sexual harassment, and retaliation for filing complaints of discrimination. The SoundCorps Board of Directors is responsible for formally administering this policy and its grievance procedure.