FAQ (in English)

What is Equalisters?

Equalisters is a groundbreaking service and approach to equality that enables organizations, companies or projects to find alternatives that are outside the norm when, for example, trying to find artists, copywriters, directors, comedians and DJs. It is a crowdsourcing social service that changes social structures at the core and contributes to a more democratic, fair, and equal society–a society where people are not defined and constrained by their gender, ethnicity, physical ability, age ,or any other attributes that often tend to (wrongly) define who we are and what we take part of in society.

Why Equalisters?

We exist to promote social equality through optimistic action! The notions we have about who is suited for what based on gender, age, ethnicity, or abilities greatly limit our opportunities to do what we want and can do. These notions are reproduced daily in newspapers, on television, and in speaker events that, by default, engage only members of the given majority group. Sometimes it is easier to believe that ”there are no suitable alternatives”, instead of making an effort to break the norm and portray the actual diversity within a field. This is not necessarily done out of ill will, but simply out of a lack of time, imagination, and countless other circumstances. Fortunately, this is where Equalisters wants to help. We know that the alternatives are out there and that society has a lot to gain by people broadening their vision and questioning constricting norms and notions. Coming generations should not grow up thinking that what they want to do in the world is defined by their ethnicity, gender, or creed.

How does Equalisters work?

Organizations, companies, or editors needing assistance in finding alternatives to their standard representatives turn to us. They contact us at info@equalisters.org. Equalisters then posts a search on www.facebook.com/equalisters. Everyone who has joined the group can then contribute their suggestion in the form of a name and a few details. We compile a lists and publish it on our future website www.equalisters.org, where anyone can benefit from them. In order to not become a marketing platform, we avoid publishing company names and project details in the listings.

You often talk about men, women and other groups – shouldn’t we get away from a society with labels?

Yes. We are striving for a society where labels don’t matter. We believe that an important step toward this end is to question the preconceived notions that people have about what it is to be a man/woman, gay/bi/straight, old/young/middle-aged, of color/white, etc. – and to prove those notions wrong. By questioning majority norms, such as who has the right to provide expert commentary, we get closer to a society where labels are insignificant. In order to reach the day when we don’t have to count, we might have to do a lot of counting right now!

Is Equalisters into token representation?

No. We help find alternatives to those who can’t find them on their own. We assume that companies, editors, and project coordinators use their regular processes to select the people they think are best fit for the purpose. Equalisters believes that one can discover an incredible amount of perhaps unnoticed competence in a wider selection.

Who is behind Equalisters?

Equalisters was founded by Stockholm-native Lina Thomsgård. The non-profit organization has a board, but in practice it’s made up of all the Equalisters–the members, who on a daily basis do the important work of recommending names and spreading the word about what we do and why, along with the companies, organizations and projects who turn to us for help.

How is Equalisters funded?

Swedish Equalisters (Rättviseförmedlingen) is a not-for-profit organization registered in Sweden. The administrative work is funded through donations, awards and charitable funds along with speaking engagements and trainings. If you have more questions regarding the funding contact us by email info@equalisters.org

Why are most requests for women? Aren’t there other underrepresented groups? Don’t you think it’s important that men are represented in predominantly female sectors?

Equalisters believes that all existing ideas based on normative notions are limiting, regardless of who is concerned. We gladly welcome searches that concern groups of people who have been disregarded in various contexts. All suggestions for searches are welcomed at info@equalisters.org

How can Equalisters be contacted?

Equalisters can be reached at info@equalisters.org. However, we receive a lot of mail and due to our limited resources we can’t promise to always answer. Answers to most questions can be found here in our Frequently Asked Questions.

How do I become an Equalister?

Join the group on Facebook, www.facebook.com/equalisters.

How can I use the page? Can I recommend my own project?
No. For the purpose of clarity we regularly clear all content on the page that are not searches or answers to searches. Even sweet, encouraging comments and tags are cleared (but please continue to show appreciation by liking searches, inviting friends, and spreading the word!).

I really want to help some more. How do I get involved?

Great! Equalisters needs all the help we can get. The more we are able to do, the better!
The simplest tasks are the following:
1. Compile lists. All the names we gather on the site need to be compiled, cleaned up, alphabetized and posted on our future website www.equalisters.org. If you want to help with this you can just shout out in the search that ”I want to compile!” Then copy-paste the names and info, and e-mail us an alphabetized list at info@equalisters.org. Please just send it as plain text directly in the email body (no spreadsheets!). Thanks!

2. Find images. All lists come with smart, witty, cute images. If you find an images that fits a search, please email us with an image or link (and relevant photographer/source/copyright info) to info@equalisters.org.

3. Funding. Since our organization is doing important social justice work there are lots of foundations, awards, scholarships and funding that we can apply for. These applications take a lot of time to find and to write. If you like to find and write funding applications and want to get involved, please let us know!

4. Be alert. Keep an eye out in your everyday life and dare to react when something unfair occurs. Encourage friends, family, acquaintances, co-workers and bosses to question norms and be proactive. Make sure they know that we are there to help in case they get stuck. The more they use us, the greater difference we can make.

If I feel like creating a discussion around one of the searches, what do I do?

We are very glad that people want to engage with our searches more profoundly. However, we ask you to find an appropriate forum where those particular issues are discussed and to take the discussion there. Equalisters has a clear mission – to search and to list. In order for us not to lose track we kindly ask you to take other discussions to the forums designated for those purposes.

Why has my recommendation of a good project been deleted?

For the purpose of clarity and usability we regularly clear all content on the page that is not searches or answers to searches. This is so that we don’t drown in links and other recommendations. We believe that it’s important to keep our focus on the things we have set out to do: to search and to list the right people for the right contexts.

What countries are Equalisters active in?

Equalisters (the members) are spread all over the globe and we are currently doing our best to start up local chapters where we can provide people on the spot with our experiences and tools so that they can create local projects. Are you interested in getting involved? Send us an email at info@equalisters.org.

Why don’t you name who is behind a search?

In order not to become a marketing platform, we avoid publishing company names and project details in the listings.

Why do you sometimes do proactive searches, without anyone requesting them?

In cases when we know that companies or organizations have expressed difficulties in finding people from underrepresented groups, we sometimes create searches without getting a request from them first, just to help out. If you have ideas about proactive searches email us at info@equalisters.org.

Why has my comment been deleted?

Equalisters works in an optimistic, constructive and tolerant way. Everyone’s recommendations and ideas are welcome and can be emailed to info@equlisters.org. Comments that are not optimistic, constructive recommendations or suggestions can be posted elsewhere. We care about those who turn to us for help – without them we can’t make a difference – and we can’t tolerate negative talk about the searches on the site. Postings that aren’t searches will be cleared (even the happy, nice shout outs), and other discussions can happen elsewhere. This is a place for searching and recommending. By focusing we can continue to make an active difference.

Can you help me find a female speaker for a women’s festival?

No. The mission of Equalisters is to to break majority domination and help build a world where a person’s gender identity, age, ethnicity, sexuality and origin doesn’t determine what one can do and where. In cases where these categories are a precondition for participation, we don’t see how we can help out.

Can you help me find suitable people in general for my project?

We get a lot of requests asking us to search for just people in general. That’s not what we do. We help out in finding the people that allegedly don’t exist, or where only one type of person is likely to be portrayed. We’re sure that project coordinators can handle general casting work without our assistance.

Why is it difficult to search on the website?

The website grew out of a free blogging tool that doesn’t have those functions. In the future the website will be made more searchable and user-friendly, with more helpful functions. You are more than welcome to suggest things that would be helpful to integrate into the site. Email us at info@equalisters.org.