Hand Eye Society’s work is underpinned by the belief that the diversity and intersectionality of people from varied backgrounds, cultures, lifestyles, and ways of thinking are critical to the future of artistic practice and technological development. We encourage and value diversity, and we recognize that talent and potential are distributed across the population, but are often unequally recognized due to structural inequalities.

Hand Eye Society not only supports the principle of equity in employment and governance but also champions diversity and inclusivity throughout our commissioning process, partnerships, and audiences as part of our organizational ethos. Hand Eye Society recognizes that many people in our society experience discrimination. All forms of discrimination are unacceptable, regardless of whether there was any intention to discriminate.

Through this policy, Hand Eye Society affirms its commitment to these principles within the organization and to creating and nurturing a diverse and inclusive arts community that encompasses our legal, moral, and ethical responsibilities.

Principles

This policy is in place to support the Hand Eye Society, its members, and its community in bringing to life the principles of diversity, equity, access and inclusion, and reflecting them back in our daily interactions and decisions. The Hand Eye Society believes that these principles contribute to a sense of belonging and strengthen the videogame arts community, enhancing excellence, innovation, and creativity across all its domains.

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Policy commits us to:

– Understanding and valuing diversity and intersectionality to enable fair and full participation in our work and activities
– Ensuring there is no unjustified discrimination in our recruitment, selection, performance management, and other processes
– Ensuring action that promotes equity; this includes progressing diversity action plans and addressing structural inequalities through our programme
– Treating individuals with whom we work with fairness, dignity and respect
– Actively working towards removing barriers and redressing imbalances caused by inequality and unjustified discrimination.

The Directors of Hand Eye Society are responsible for ensuring organizational compliance with this policy and for its implementation, monitoring, and review. This policy will be implemented through our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity Action Plan. The policy and the performance of the action plan will be reviewed by the Directors every 6 months.

Who Does the Policy Apply to?

This policy covers discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and/or belief, sex or sexual orientation as set out in the Human Rights Act (1977). We also wish to include non-discrimination on the grounds of socio-economic background, nationality, cultural background, social class, neuro-diversity and employment status. Our approach goes beyond compliance, and we are committed to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion because we believe it is the right thing to do and good for our community.

This policy applies to all people working with Hand Eye Society in whatever capacity (employee, artist, volunteer, board member, student, freelancer, or contractor). Throughout this document, for ease and simplicity, these people will be referred to as Hand Eye Society’s Staff and Volunteers.

Staff and Volunteers of Hand Eye Society are required to act to ensure that this policy is effective in ensuring equal opportunities and in preventing discrimination. Our Equity Policy applies to performance management, succession planning and development opportunities. All staff should be encouraged to consider how equity, diversity and inclusion can add value to their work and have a related deliverable and/or development objective.

Staffing, Recruitment and Governance

Hand Eye Society aims to create an organizational culture that respects and values each other’s differences, that promotes dignity, equality, and diversity, and that encourages individuals to develop and maximize their true potential.

We aim to remove barriers, not discriminate, and mitigate bias that prevent individuals or groups from realizing their potential and contributing fully to our organization’s performance, and to develop an organizational culture that positively values and promotes diversity.

We recognize that discrimination is unacceptable and equality of opportunity has been a long-standing feature of our employment practices and procedures. Breaches of the policy will lead to an investigation and may result in disciplinary proceedings and, if appropriate, disciplinary action.

The aim of the policy is to ensure no job applicant, employee, or worker is discriminated against either directly or indirectly on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and/or belief, sex, or sexual orientation as set out in the Human Rights Act (1977). We also wish to include non-discrimination on the grounds of socio-economic background, nationality, cultural background, social class, neurodiversity, and employment status. Job descriptions will be revised to ensure they align with our equal opportunities policy.

Complaints Procedures

Complaints related to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion should be reported to the Board of Directors ([board@handeyesociety.com](mailto:board@handeyesociety.com)), who must report any such complaint to the Directors. If the complaint is about a Board Director, it should be made through the Executive Director ([director@handeyesociety.com](mailto:director@handeyesociety.com)). All incidents of direct discrimination are disciplinary offences and will be dealt with under the Disciplinary Procedure. Incidents of indirect discrimination will be investigated to determine whether they should be dealt with under the Disciplinary Procedure. Any member of staff found to be in breach of this policy will be counselled on their actions and will be subject to disciplinary action in line with the Standard Terms of Employment. Any member of any Committee or working group found to be in breach of this policy will be counselled on their actions and may, where necessary, be asked to leave Hand Eye Society.

Artistic and Audience Development

Employees and Directors of Hand Eye Society are required to act to ensure that this policy is effective in ensuring equal opportunities and in preventing discrimination. Hand Eye Society continues its monitoring and continuation of delivering work by artists from diverse backgrounds to more diverse audiences.

Hand Eye Society does not see growing our diversity and inclusivity as a series of targets – instead, we address diversity and inclusivity as a core part of our cultural ethos to improve the way we work, support and include new audiences and the artists we work with.

Hand Eye Society is committed to increasing access to its programmes. We regularly make open, public calls for participation in our Festival and Year-Round programmes, as well as for artistic development. All of our exhibitions and showcases are free to attend, and we ensure that any ticketed events are affordable for those on low or no wages. Our workshops and memberships are affordably priced, and often electronic versions are made available free of charge on our website and platforms.

We work across a breadth of formats and contexts, often outdoors and outside of traditional arts spaces, to ensure that opportunities to engage with Hand Eye Society’s work reach a wider pool of people. As part of our ethos, our work connects with individuals and communities from all sections of society through carefully curated programmes.

We endeavour to meet any access requirements where possible.

Anti-Racism/Anti-Colonialism

Hand Eye Society is committed to anti-racism and anti-colonialism in our working practices, programme, policies, and organizational ethos.

Through our work, we are committed to exposing structural inequalities, systemic oppression, and opposing racial prejudice in all its forms.

Hand Eye Society believes in the potential of artists and cultural organizations to be active agents of change, and in actively working towards this, we aim to ensure that intersectional voices and perspectives inform all aspects of our work. We acknowledge that challenging systemic racism and colonialism is an ongoing process which involves listening, learning, and dismantling. We will continue to challenge ourselves, as staff and Board, to understand and correct any inequities we may discover within our organization and in the work we produce.