Good morning, Broadsheet readers! A new over-the-counter birth control pill is on the way, diversity jobs are disappearing, and the SAG strike is just the beginning. Have a great weekend.
– On the picket line. Hollywood is on strike. SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents performers, joined the Writers Guild of America yesterday in striking against Hollywood studios after contract talks failed. Film and television production will now come to a standstill around the world, as will press tours, social media promotion, and more.
It’s the first time in 43 years that actors have gone on strike. Last time writers and actors were on strike together, Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild. This time around, the guild’s president is Fran Drescher, star of The Nanny. And Drescher gave a barn-burning speech yesterday shaming studios for failing to reach an agreement.
“I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things, how they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right while giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs,” Drescher said. “It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history at this very moment.” (She also responded to criticism that she went to a fashion event in Italy last weekend amid strike talks; she said it was a work event for a brand deal—like many performers in SAG have—and she was on Zoom late into the night trying to reach a deal.)
Studio bosses like Disney’s Bob Iger have said they’re disappointed by the strike which “ad[d] to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing.”
The Hollywood strikes are being watched across industries. A central issue is the streaming business model that has left writers and actors without meaningful residuals for their projects, even as those projects continue to earn money for companies, as this New Yorker piece about the 10-year anniversary of Orange Is New Black outlines.
The other sticking point—with even greater implications—is A.I. Studios, writers, and performers have not agreed on how their work and likenesses could be used to develop A.I.-based content. In a press conference, SAG negotiators said that while studios said they’d offered a “groundbreaking” A.I. proposal, that proposal would have allowed studios to scan the likenesses of background actors and use them in future projects, with no expiration date, without requiring the actor’s consent or additional compensation.
As companies across sectors wrestle with what A.I. will mean for their businesses and workforces, the WGA and SAG negotiations provide a preview. Business leaders say that bringing people along on the journey to an A.I.-powered future is the hardest part of this once-in-a-generation transition. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the trade organization representing Hollywood bosses, has so far failed to convince its labor force to buy into its vision of the future.
As Drescher said in her speech: “The eyes of the world and, particularly, the eyes of labor are upon us.”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Birth Control made easy. Opill will become the first over-the-counter birth control pill offered in the United States following FDA approval on Thursday. Though the price is still unknown, Perrigo Company, which manufactured the pill, expects it to be available in-store and online in early 2024. New York Times
- Missed goals. The Women’s World Cup now has a faster growing audience than the men's tournament, but FIFA’s attempt to sell the men's and women's tournaments separately for the first time is backfiring. FIFA expected to earn $300 million in revenue by selling the media rights to the 2023 women’s tournament separately from the men’s, but public backlash from broadcasters have sent those expectations spiraling. Wall Street Journal
- Nominee approved. Democrat Kalpana Kotagal is now a commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission following Senate approval on Thursday, giving Democrats their first majority in the agency in years. Kotagal has spent most of her legal career representing the disenfranchised in civil rights and employment cases. Bloomberg Law
- Back on the beam. Gabby Douglas is coming back to gymnastics. The Olympic gymnast didn't compete in the 2021 Tokyo Games, but she announced yesterday that she's returning to the sport. Douglas was the first Black woman to win the Olympics' top individual competition and also came forward as a victim of former doctor Larry Nassar. New York Times
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Stephanie Fuschetti has been promoted to vice president of CapitalG, the independent growth fund of Alphabet. Margaret Franco was named CMO of Kinaxis, a supply chain management solution provider. Stacie Bratcher was named CEO of Wellinks.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- Diversity is disappearing. An alarming trend has emerged as diversity and inclusion executives at high-profile companies like Disney, Netflix, and Warner Bros Discovery have been let go or resigned recently. This year brought a 4.51% decrease in diversity officer hires over last year, casting doubt on the corporate commitments to diversity made after the death of George Floyd. Financial Times
- VP on A.I. Vice President Kamala Harris had regulation on the brain Wednesday as she met with a group of civil rights and labor leaders to discuss the dangers of A.I. in the workplace. During the meeting, which is representative of a larger push from the Biden administration to confront the pros and cons of A.I., Harris stressed the need for employee and customer privacy. Bloomberg
- Medical prejudice. A recently published report from the UN found that systemic racism and sexism in hospitals across the Americas are the predominant reasons why Black mothers are more likely to die or have serious complications during pregnancy and childbirth. The report specifically outlined the frequency with which Black women reported having been denied medication and abused by staff. New York Times
ON MY RADAR
America Ferrera taught a generation of women to reject traditional beauty standards. So what’s she doing in the Barbie movie? The Cut
Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs and the complicated response to 'Fast Car' The Washington Post
She's got the hardest job in soccer. Can she keep winning? New York Times
PARTING WORDS
"Just continue dreaming and trying to achieve your dream."
—Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina, who lost her semifinal match at Wimbledon yesterday
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