In 1979, Bay and other members of the "Original Six," a group of women directors, created the Women’s Steering Committee of the Director’s Guild of America, to protest against gender discrimination in Hollywood and support female employment on film and television sets at the directing level. Bay is a member of the board of directors of the Foundation for National Progress, which publishes the magazine Mother Jones. In 2007, Bay directed the American premiere of Shakespeare's Will, a solo play
