CREATIVE

MAJORITY
CREATIVE
MAJORITY
CREATIVE
MAJORITY
CREATIVE
An All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)
for Creative Diversity report into ‘What
Works’ to enhance diversity, equity and
inclusion inAMBITION
the creative sector. 1
September 2021
CREATIVE
Report authors: Natalie Wreyford,
Dave O’Brien, Tamsyn Dent MAJORITY
Citing this report: Wreyford, N, O’Brien, D, and Dent,
T (2021). Creative Majority: An APPG for Creative
Diversity report on ‘What Works’ to support,
encourage and improve diversity, equity and
inclusion in the creative sector. A report for the
All Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity.
Accessed here:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/cultural/projects/creative-majority

Cover illustration by Michelle Wong.

Michelle is a designer and illustrator based
in London whose illustrations have appeared
in Gal-dem, BBC Body Positive and Shado Mag.
www.michellecywong.co.uk

Design by Praline
www.designbypraline.com
FOREWORD to those researchers, Natalie Wreyford, Dave O’Brien and Tamsyn
Dent; to our core sponsors, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and
NBCUniversal; to our research partners, King’s College London
and the University of Edinburgh; and to all the individuals and
organisations that took part in our roundtable events.
The report calls for greater ambition, allyship, accessibility,
adaptability and accountability: five As that, taken together,
provide a framework for good and effective practice and
benchmark standards against which businesses can measure
progress. The first of these As is the sine qua non. Change will
only happen if equity, diversity and inclusion are not left to any
one individual or team but are understood as the responsibility
Co-Chair, APPG for Creative Diversity; of everyone, at every level of every creative organisation: firmly
Vice President (Communities & National rooted at the heart of business, funding, engagement and
Engagement) and Senior Advisory Fellow commissioning plans.
for Culture, King’s College London Change at this scale will require bold and visionary leadership
across government, at sector level and within organisations and
businesses: leadership that is willing to step up to meet the
It’s a privilege to co-chair the APPG that has produced this report challenge this report sets out. It won’t be easy, but the rewards
and to have taken part in the inspiring discussions that informed will be great: a creative workforce and audiences that include,
its content. The UK’s creative industries are a major success story, represent and benefit from the talents of the full and glorious
and yet participation in, and benefits of, this success are not diversity of the UK population.
evenly shared, with a small minority dominating the sector and
its most senior roles. Creative Majority lays bare the still-too-
common belief that ‘talent will always out’ and focuses its lens
not on the problem but on ‘What Works’ to increase diversity
in the creative industries.
With my twin hats as both a Parliamentarian and a Vice-
Principal at King’s College London, I’m delighted that King’s
has partnered with the APPG on this report. The university
is committed to generating knowledge that has real purpose
beyond its walls and this partnership has provided a valuable
opportunity for our academics to work as part of a research
team committed to doing exactly that: bringing research together
with lived experience to deliver actionable recommendations for
practitioners and policymakers, based on a thorough analysis
of the literature and effective practice to date. We are indebted

4 CREATIVE MAJORITY FOREWORD 5

FOREWORD My sincere thanks to our team of researchers – Natalie Wreyford,
Dave O’Brien and Tamsyn Dent – for their tireless work building
this important report; to Alex Pleasants and Joanna Abeyie for
driving the group forward; to our research partners, King’s College
London and the University of Edinburgh, and our sponsors, the
Paul Hamlyn Foundation and NBCUniversal, for backing this project
during exceptional times; to my co-chair, Baroness Bull, and the
group’s committed vice-chairs and officers; and to each of our
roundtable participants for their vital first-hand perspectives.
As the creative industries recover, it is essential we do not
rebuild the same barriers to equity, diversity and inclusion that
existed pre-pandemic. Understanding ‘What Works’ is a vital first
Chi Onwurah MP, Co-Chair, step. It is time for government to acknowledge and adopt the
APPG for Creative Diversity report’s policy recommendations and for the creative sector
to take bold steps to finally tackle this historic, systemic issue.

For too long the UK’s creative industries have been dominated
by a narrow subset of the UK population – a subset that does
not represent our country as a whole. The pandemic has only
deepened this issue, with fewer creative organisations, fewer
job opportunities and fewer openings for diverse talent. Without
action, we risk exacerbating inequalities further in the creative
industries and an entire generation of talent – the future of the
sector – could be lost.
Creative Majority shows how we can plot a positive course
out of this crisis. It is the culmination of 18 months of research
by the APPG for Creative Diversity and its partners into
‘What Works’ – and what doesn’t – when it comes to boosting
diversity and inclusion in the creative sector. The result
is a comprehensive report that provides actionable, practical
steps for creative businesses and organisations, as well
as achievable recommendations for government built around
Five As. As an APPG, it is up to us to make sure that this report
is read from Westminster to the West End, from Penzance
to Paisley, and to help facilitate long-lasting, collaborative change.

6 CREATIVE MAJORITY FOREWORD 7

 This report provides a timely and important This collaboration with the APPG for Creative
framework for the creative industries to reflect Diversity shows just how effective it can
on, learn from and, more importantly, act upon. be to have academics working with policymakers
At our best, we are a sector that collaborates and to apply research insights to some of the most
stands together, but there are still barriers for too pressing issues facing our economy and society.
many to be part of our workforce. We can do more At the University of Edinburgh, we are strongly
to be true allies, to call out issues where we see committed to increasing and sustaining diversity
them and to better understand what we can do in the cultural and creative sectors, through both
to become truly equitable organisations. With its our teaching and our research. The Creative
Moira Sinclair, CEO, focus on what works, the Creative Majority report Professor Dorothy Miell, Majority report showcases those commitments,
Paul Hamlyn Foundation should help us all to seize the moment and show Head of the College as our academics and students have played a lead
leadership. The responsibility sits squarely on our of Arts, Humanities role in creating this important contribution to our
shoulders, and at Paul Hamlyn Foundation, we are and Social Sciences, understanding of ‘What Works’ for diversity
committed to being part of this journey. University of Edinburgh in the creative industries. As the report shows,
a commitment to diversity must be the starting
point for any creative success. I look forward
Diversity and inclusion is a priority at NBCUniversal, to practitioners and policymakers implementing
and we are deeply committed to our many its recommendations and the exciting and
programmes that help ensure we reflect our global important future partnerships that will result.
audience, like our Universal Directors Initiative
and Universal Writers Program. We are privileged
to partner with the APPG for Creative Diversity
to scale best practices and recommendations
across the media and entertainment sector
to foster real change. While we are proud of our
Craig Robinson, work to date, we are mindful that focusing
Chief Diversity Officer, on diversity, equity and inclusion is an always
NBCUniversal on, full-time job.

8 CREATIVE MAJORITY OUR FUNDERS 9

ABOUT THE APPG The Officers of the APPG are:

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity (APPG) Co-Chair Chi Onwurah MP (Labour)
for Creative Diversity was formed in May 2019 by Ed Vaizey MP Co-Chair Baroness Deborah Bull (Crossbench)
(now Lord Vaizey) with the support of Alex Pleasants, formerly Vice Chair Baroness Floella Benjamin (Liberal Democrat)
Ed Vaizey’s senior policy adviser, and Joanna Abeyie MBE, leading Vice Chair Baroness Jane Bonham Carter (Liberal Democrat)
diversity consultant and CEO of Blue Moon. Its aim is to engage Vice Chair Lord Ed Vaizey (Conservative)
with industry and government to identify and tackle obstacles Vice Chair Rupa Huq MP (Labour)
to equity, diversity and inclusion in the creative sector. Vice Chair Helen Grant MP (Conservative)
Baroness Deborah Bull and Chi Onwurah MP are now Former Vice Chair Tracy Brabin (Labour)
co-chairs, giving the group prominent voices in both the House Officer Kim Johnson MP (Labour)
of Commons and the House of Lords. The group’s vice-chairs Officer Marsha De Cordova MP (Labour)
and officers bring a further wealth of both political and industry Officer Giles Watling MP (Conservative)
experience and include Baroness Floella Benjamin, Baroness
Jane Bonham-Carter, Lord Ed Vaizey and Rupa Huq MP.
Alex Pleasants and Joanna Abeyie MBE provide the With thanks to the APPG’s sponsors: King’s College London,
secretariat for the group. Dr Dave O’Brien from the Department University of Edinburgh, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and
of History of Art, University of Edinburgh and the Arts and NBCUniversal. The APPG’s work is also supported by the Creative
Humanities Research Council Creative Industries Policy Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC),
and Evidence Centre (AHRC PEC), Jenny Butterfield from the Creative Industries Federation and Marie Claire.
the Department of History of Art, University of Edinburgh, and
Dr Natalie Wreyford and Dr Tamsyn Dent from the Department The research project was assisted by a Scientific Committee
of Culture, Media & Creative Industries, Faculty of Arts that included: Professor Sarah Atkinson; Dr Roberta Comunian;
& Humanities, King’s College London, constituted the Dr Virginia Crisp; Dr Joanne Entwistle; Dr Jonathan Gross and
research team. Dr Wing-Fai Leung from the Department of Culture, Media &
Creative Industries and Dr Ruvani Ranasinha from the Department
of English, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, King’s College London;
Beatrice Pembroke, Executive Director, Culture, King’s College
London, and Hilary Carty, Director of Clore Leadership.

10 CREATIVE MAJORITY ABOUT APPG 11

Executive summary 14 ACCOUNTABILITY 138
The five As policy recommendations 16 Goal setting/consequences 140
Introduction 28 Measuring progress towards equity 144
Build alliances with grassroots organizations 149
CONTEXT 35 Mental health and wellbeing 151
What is the problem? 35 Equal pay 153
Understanding creative diversity 36 Consultation with outside specialists 155
Structural issues 37
Evidence Considered 41 CONCLUSION 164

AMBITION 44 REFERENCES 166

A multi-level approach 51 Appendix 1: Search terms 178
A seat at the top table 55 Appendix 2: Roundtable participants 179
Equality and the law 57

ALLYSHIP 64
Culture change 67
The right kind of training 72
Giving a voice to the marginalised 77
and lived experience
Mentoring/sponsoring 81

ACCESSIBILITY 88
Parents and carers 97
Work experience/internships 104
Leaky pipelines and biased recruitment 111

ADAPTABILITY 121
Diverse hiring and commissioning 124
Recruitment processes 127
Retention and promotion 133

12 13
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Ambition reflects the need for EDI
to be addressed by everyone, at every level,
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Creative Diversity and put at the heart of business, funding
was set up in 2019 to identify and tackle obstacles to equity, and commissioning plans.
diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the UK’s creative sector. Despite
enormous goodwill, good intentions and decades of work Allyship provides the essential conditions for EDI
by activists and EDI leads, the UK’s creative and cultural to flourish, and ensures all voices are heard.
workforces still do not reflect the diversity of the UK population.
Indeed, the most powerful positions in the creative economy Accessibility provokes questions about who
are still some of the least diverse. is not able to participate and why.
For real change to happen, EDI needs to come out of the
margins and into the spotlight. There is a business imperative Adaptability provides practical tools for
as well as a moral one. The disruption caused by COVID-19 have the application of effective practices.
reminded the country, and the world, of the importance of culture
and creativity to our lives. The moment of rebuilding offers the
Accountability promotes ways to ensure change
opportunity to create a more equitable cultural sector and
a more equitable world.
happens, lessons are learned and shared, and
In response to these issues, the APPG has worked with actions are adapted accordingly.
academics from King’s College London and the University of
Edinburgh, with support from Paul Hamlyn Foundation and NBC
Universal, to produce the Creative Majority report. Creative The As are not a five-step guide to success. There is not yet
Majority provides the tools to support action for change. The enough evidence from any sector to say what works every time.
report is based on an extensive review of literature, from fields The sheer range of sectors and types of organisation
as diverse as medicine, science, technology, engineering, within the creative economy means having a single approach
maths, education, and management studies. It offers evidence to supporting diversity is impossible. A single report, as Creative
of practices to support diversity that work. This review of the Majority demonstrates, cannot solve all the inequalities that exist
specific and sometimes limited academic literature is brought within our cultural and creative industries. Indeed, relying on one
into dialogue with lived experiences and examples of effective report or relying on one neat organisational or sector change is
action from within the creative and cultural industries. Together, to miss the point of the research literature, the current effective
the two strands of the research project represent a call to action, practice and the voices of campaigners.
for leadership and collective responsibility to support both Instead, the As provide a cycle through which policy makers,
immediate and long-lasting change. organisations, small businesses and individuals can repeatedly
The report is organised around five headline guiding principles navigate – learning and listening, changing and adapting – and
that provide a framework for good and effective practices make progress towards effective practices that will make the
in recruiting, developing and retaining a diverse creative sector. creative and cultural industries more inclusive.
These five As should act as benchmarks for anyone wanting
to see results in EDI.

14 CREATIVE MAJORITY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 15

This report represents a challenge and represents a demand. or subsidies. Yet it has been under-developed as a means
It offers a chance for policymakers, along with organisations of promoting and supporting diversity. An ambitious
and businesses, to step up and to lead. strategy of funding incentives should sit alongside any
We need bold and visionary leadership to support diversity government campaign to raise awareness of the Equality
in the creative economy. As our report shows, the challenges are Act and its protections.
great. Yet, bold and visionary leadership will reap the rewards
of a diverse workforce and audience. It is a challenge to which • As recommended by the Arts and Humanities Research
we need policymakers to rise. Council’s Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre
(PEC), the Government should consider calls for
a Freelance Commissioner.
THE FIVE As POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS One of the primary ambitions of this Commissioner should
be to improve national data collection on types and structures
AMBITION of self-employment and to ensure resources are distributed
more equally to those in different types of employment,
For government: including giving freelancers better access to benefits such
as sick pay and parental leave. A Freelance Commissioner
• The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport should also interrogate whether freelancers are overly relied
(DCMS) and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy upon in creative sector workforces.
(BEIS), along with the Government Equalities Office must
do more to educate and inform employers about their For organisations and businesses:
responsibilities towards all workers and service providers
under the Equality Act 2010 • Organisations should monitor employee, workforce, and
As our roundtables, and review of the academic literature commissioning data, and set targets to deliver creative
makes clear, many of the tools needed to foster diversity diversity. This must include the freelance workforce.
in the creative economy are in existing legislation. Yet across No matter what the size of an organisation, from the BBC or
the differing and distinctive organisations and businesses Netflix through to the smallest microbusinesses in publishing,
in the creative economy, more needs to be done to raise music, gaming or theatre, being ambitious about diversity is
awareness of the Equality Act’s provisions. crucial. In this context, target setting is vital for organisations,
as is reporting on progress and responses to failure.
• DCMS, working with its arms-length bodies such as Arts
Council England (ACE) and the British Film Institute (BFI) • Give those responsible for EDI time and resources
alongside the devolved administrations and their creative to be proactive in recruitment networks and really get
industries policy organisations such as Creative Scotland, to know the sources of a diverse candidate pool.
should make public funding across the sector subject It takes time to build relationships that deliver the right people.
to strict compliance with the Equality Act 2010. It is essential that businesses and organisations understand
Public funding is a powerful tool to incentivise change. It has the challenges faced by potential candidates and employees
a variety of forms, from tax incentives to direct investments so that they can be successful in the recruitment process.

16 CREATIVE MAJORITY THE FIVE AS POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 17

ALLYSHIP Workers, whether present or future employees or freelancers,
are a crucial source of experiences and understandings
For government: of barriers and discrimination. Yet our review of the literature,
along with the roundtables, suggests lived experiences
• DCMS should have a plan for creative diversity, published of discrimination are still marginalised in many creative and
and reviewed annually, with associated key performance cultural sectors. Better understanding of how to dismantle
indicators (KPIs). barriers and stop discrimination needs organisations and
This is especially important for DCMS. Currently its diversity businesses to resource ways of listening to the workforce.
commitment in its Single Departmental Plan is only
a commitment to ‘promoting diversity across its sectors’, rather • Develop education and information campaigns
than a detailed plan for delivering a more diverse creative around issues associated with discrimination in the
sector. DCMS can be an important ally and leader by setting cultural industries.
a firm and clear commitment to a more diverse creative sector. Experiences of barriers and discrimination need to be heard,
but they also need to be understood. There is still a great
For organisations and businesses: deal of misunderstanding and misperception of issues
associated with creative diversity. In this context, organisations
• All organisations should have a plan for creative diversity, and businesses should properly resource education and
published and reviewed annually. awareness campaigns.
Effective EDI needs an approach that includes all levels: senior
management support; commitment from hirers, managers and ACCESSIBILITY
strategic planners; cultural competence across all employees;
and a voice for the marginalised. It is impossible to bring these For government:
differing elements together without a clear plan or policy
on creative diversity. • DCMS should collate, co-ordinate and disseminate the range
of sector guidance and toolkits on supporting access to jobs
• Adopt mentoring and sponsorship programmes. within the creative economy, for example the Social Mobility
Our review of the literature suggested mentoring and Commission’s toolkit for the creative industries and recent
sponsorship can be highly effective in driving a more guidance by BFI, ACE, and Jerwood Arts.
diverse workforce. However, there are several issues and Our roundtables and our scoping work on the policy landscape
pitfalls. As a result, organisations should ensure sponsorship for creative diversity suggested the existence of a whole range
is only done through official channels, with monitoring and of guidance and toolkits across the creative economy. Whilst
accountability built in to promote effectiveness and equality this is welcome, it means that organisations and individuals
of opportunity. looking for support can find it hard to navigate the range
of approaches. A key role for government, and for DCMS as the
• Create and fund employee resource groups, and freelancer ministry for creative economy, is to offer guidance on these
networks, as a forum for marginalised groups. Listen to them resources, both signposting to them and synthesising key
and their recommendations. insights and suggested practices.

18 CREATIVE MAJORITY THE FIVE AS POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 19

For organisations and businesses: • Know your legal obligations as employers to all who
operate within the workplace.
• Offer flexible work, job sharing, working from home and These three recommendations reflect the discussions
part-time work as default for all positions, or give clear of current practices from the roundtables. We heard several
reasons why not. witnesses describe how organisations could be seen as
The pandemic has transformed working life for large parts closed and even hostile as a result of not taking seriously legal
of society. It has shown how previous barriers to a more obligations to be accessible and the more subtle signals that
diverse workforce, for example for disabled people or parents result from organisational branding and recruitment practices.
and carers, can be overcome quickly when the situation Changing these elements of an organisation can go hand-in-
demands change. Having seen what is possible, businesses hand, thinking about what legal requirements may be and then
and organisations need to think carefully about working using these as a starting point for how an organisation thinks
practices and clearly justify roles for which the default and talks about itself, and how it recruits.
is not a flexible and tailored approach to each role and
each individual. • Do not use unpaid interns. Ensure your contractors do not
use unpaid interns. Diversify the pool of candidates you
• Competence-based approaches to jobs and commissions draw from for volunteer work or apprenticeships.
must become the norm across the sector, replacing The academic literature is clear that unpaid internships are
informal recruitment practices. a significant barrier to entry and to advancement in creative
The effective practice examples we heard at the roundtable careers. As we heard at our roundtables, we have long passed
sessions, along with reviews of the ‘What Works’ evidence the point where businesses and organisations can claim
on hiring, suggests practices including formal recruitment; ignorance about the legal requirements for internships and
removing organisational branding; performance or work- the impact on excluding many from workplace opportunities.
based assessment of candidates; and clear criteria for hiring The effective practice case studies from our roundtable
decisions are all crucial. Informal networks, hidden decision- sessions all stressed the need to pay interns and be clear
making processes and ‘gut reactions’ still dominate parts about limiting volunteering opportunities so they are
of the creative economy, and underpin barriers not simply unpaid internships by another name. Larger
and discrimination. commissioning organisations must assume responsibility
for compliance with this practice with any companies
• Be proactive in ensuring your workplace is adaptable or individuals that they contract.
to those with physical disabilities and those with
invisible disabilities. ADAPTABILITY
• Scrutinise your job adverts and recruitment process For government:
to discover whether they could be off-putting to certain
demographics. Consider removing your name and logo. • DCMS should produce guidance for companies on how
to interrogate their recruitment practices to make them
fairer and inviting for all applicants.

20 CREATIVE MAJORITY THE FIVE AS POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 21

 Throughout the APPG’s roundtables and research, it has • Seek out relationships with grassroots organisations.
been clear the sectors within the creative economy are Larger organisations should also financially incentivise
keen to be more diverse and open to all. Yet there is still this with their partners.
a great deal of confusion about how to adapt and adopt As with Allyship, much of the effective practice we heard
effective practices, or to understand what organisations and at the roundtables was coming from smaller, grassroots
individuals need to change. In this context, DCMS could follow organisations. Larger organisations can sometimes
the example of the Social Mobility Commission, which has be slower to pick up on the most up-to-date approaches,
produced guidance on both how to understand social mobility and support for diversity can end up being driven by those
and how to support it within the workforce. DCMS should build in the most marginal positions. As with the recommendation
on this example for diversity beyond social mobility, to include for government, companies should offer clear financial
the characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010. incentives for grassroots organisations to work with larger
organisations, to creating mutually beneficial, rather than
• DCMS should provide financial incentives for companies precarious and exploitative, relationships.
forming working relationships with grassroots organisations.
ACCOUNTABILITY
For organisations and businesses:
For government:
• Ensure all employees are put through an inclusion audit to
ensure ‘What Works’ is embedded throughout their careers. • DCMS must coordinate data collection, publication,
and target setting across the creative economy.
• Ensure that managers attend mandatory, quarterly, There is a wealth of data about diversity in the creative
in depth inclusive leadership and education training. economy. Every year, DCMS publishes workforce statistics.
The three national Arts Councils and Creative Scotland, the BFI,
• Equip middle managers with the skills to manage and Ofcom collect data, and subsector bodies and support
everyone, including understanding how personal agencies, including Ukie, Creative and Cultural Skills, BAFTA,
characteristics such as disability, faith, sexuality, SOLT, and UK Music, as well as campaigning organisations such
and more impact on people’s lives. as PiPA, Raising Films, and Freelancers Make Theatre Work,
These three recommendations reflect some of the practical all have datasets. In film and TV, Project Diamond has become
guidance in the research literature and discussed at the an important source of understanding data in the industry,
roundtables. It is important to stress, as with all of the other alongside annual reports from organisations such as the BBC.
recommendations, audits, training, and inclusive management Yet there is no central hub for this data and no clear indication
practices will not, in isolation, transform creative organisations. if diversity across the sector is getting better or worse. Thus,
They are an important part of the practical steps to ‘What it is impossible to hold anyone to account. DCMS must take
Works’, but as both the literature review and roundtable responsibility for diversity data, as part of a new commitment
participants stressed, supporting creative diversity demands to having a formal policy and KPIs in this area.
more than one programme of training or one individual
and organisational audit.

22 CREATIVE MAJORITY THE FIVE AS POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 23

• Deliver a Workforce Information Bill by the end of this
Parliament in 2024, to increase mandatory pay gap
reporting across multiple protected characteristics
and to smaller organisations.
Pay gap reporting works, but it is currently too limited.
As recommended by the APPG for Diversity and Inclusion
in STEM, a Workforce Information Bill is urgently needed.
The COVID-19 suspension of mandatory reporting must
ILI TY
now be revoked and companies required by law to publish TA B
O UN AD
ACC
intersectional pay gap reports annually.
AP
TA
For organisations and businesses: B ILI
TY
• Publish annual data on workforce demographics, along with
pay, and pay gap data for key characteristics including
gender, race, class, parenthood, and disability.
The roundtables, and the academic literature were clear:

AM
data is essential to supporting creative diversity. Data will not

BIT
be useful if it is difficult to access or hidden. Organisations
must commit to collecting and publishing key data as the
Y

IO
T
ILI
basis for any creative diversity policy or action plans.

N
I B
For everyone:
E SS
C
• Accountability is at the beginning, and at the end, of any AC
attempt to support creative diversity. Holding to account
ALLYS
is a shared task for workers, businesses, audiences, citizens, HIP
and policymakers. Without the demand that our creative
ncultural industries become more diverse, change will
not happen.

24 CREATIVE MAJORITY THE FIVE AS POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 25

CASE STUDY

Alex Boateng, Co-President of 0207 Def Jam

at Universal Music UK

‘I grew up in East London around people like Dizzee Rascal and Lethal Bizzle
and the emergence of Grime. As a young Black guy from an African background
in East London, it was about education, and if that wasn’t going to cut through
then it was about sport or music. I focused on education, but I couldn’t ignore
my passion for music so my brother and I both DJed.
‘Typical of people in my environment, I had a bit of a frustrating relationship
with education until university. And when it came to fast-forwarding and getting
into the industry, in DJing and doing pirate radio and raves and there was
an economy and there was white labels. I never felt like the industry I saw at the
shiny end of it, on Top of the Pops, and pop stars and people that made money.
There were moments like Craig David or So Solid Crew or Mark Morrison, but
I always felt quite separate from it. That was actually cemented when I got into
the industry. My first roles as consultant at labels I felt very intimidated, like
I didn’t belong, because I didn’t see anyone like me. So, it was very challenging
to pull out the skill set that I had - that in time I have found is needed, and
essential and a big part of the industry. The environment felt very sterile
and not one I was used to.
‘I was disappointed that though a lot of the artists were like me - young,
Black and grew up in a certain way – the people that were handling the
business side of it didn’t look like me. After a while, I ended up getting a role
as a consultant and even when I was offered a role at a label, I always thought
I don’t want to work at a major label. I don’t fit in these companies, it’s not meant
for me, it’s oil and water. But Island was a special place because of the history
of it: Chris Blackwell, Bob Marley - and also again, probably subconsciously,
at the time it was run by Darcus Beese, son of Darcus Howe.
‘The fact that it was run by someone who looked like me made it a lot more
comfortable. So many people I spoke to in the industry felt like they could never
be a president or run a company in the industry because they’d never seen
that. I rose to become the president of the Urban division of the company.
The next step for myself and my twin is we are going to be running a new label
at Universal. I think we will be the only major label Black Presidents in Europe’.

26 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT CASE STUDY 27

INTRODUCTION Music, and performing and visual arts have seen the worst job
losses, and younger workers and freelance workers have been
disproportionately hit throughout the creative sector (Owen et al
2020; O’Brien et al 2021). Throughout this period, culture, whether
The UK’s creative economy contributes almost £13 million TV and film, literature, gaming, music, or live streaming, has been
to the UK economy every hour, according to government an important element of supporting people through the pandemic.
figures (DCMS 2020). In 2018 the country’s creative and cultural However, even at the point where culture has been most crucial
industries contributed £111.7 billion to the UK, equivalent to £306 to our lives, there are still important exclusions and inequalities.
million every day. This was up 7.4 percent on the previous year, This report is published as the UK is reopening and relaxing
with growth in the sector more than five times larger than growth lockdown measures. Cinemas, theatres, arts organisations and
across the UK economy as a whole. heritage sites are opening their doors once more, albeit with
Yet the benefits of this economic success are not equally some COVID-safe measures still employed throughout the sector
distributed (Brook et al 2020). Straight, able-bodied, white men for workers and consumers. Although the government’s furlough
living in London are only 3.5 per cent of the UK population (Henry scheme, devolved administrations support policies, and DCMS’s
and Ryder, 2021). Nevertheless, this small minority still dominates £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund have all supported the sector,
the creative sector, and in particular occupy a vast number the long term effects of the pandemic are still being calculated.
of the most senior creative roles. This report is about everyone Early research findings from the Centre for Cultural Value’s
else: the creative majority, or those who currently occupy COVID-19 impact study, working in collaboration with The
a smaller percentage of roles in the creative sector than their Audience Agency and the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence
number in the population as a whole. In the creative sector, Centre (PEC), suggest that the effects of the pandemic have been
our creative majority are to be found in smaller numbers, often felt unevenly. Without urgent steps, there is a very real risk that
as isolated individuals, on the margins, in segregated spaces, the creative sector workforces could become more unequal.
dropping out of the workforce early or not gaining access at all. People with disabilities, younger workers, and those who haven’t
The APPG’s research partners, Dr Natalie Wreyford and Dr engaged in higher education are amongst the worst hit groups
Tamsyn Dent, from King’s College London, and Dr Dave O’Brien and (O’Brien et al 2021), as well as parents, particularly mothers
Jenny Butterfield from the University of Edinburgh, have spent (Wreyford et al, 2021; Raising Films, 2021).
a year exploring ‘What Works’ - evidence-based approaches and Across the UK’s workforce, it is also clear that individuals
effective practices that have had a proven positive impact on from a minoritised racial group have also been hit hard (O’Brien
diversity and inclusion in creative businesses and organisations. et al, 2021). In the arts and entertainment sectors, employment
This resulting report details the variety of ways that the industry of women from these groups fell by 44 percent, more than any
can engage with a wide and diverse range of talent and construct other group in any sector (Trade Union Congress, 2021).
sustainable, inclusive approaches to opportunities and access. The past year has also seen an unparalleled change in the
Since those economic impact figures for the creative way many people work. Lockdown has necessitated a move
economy were released, the world has seen unprecedented to working from home and collaborating remotely in many cases.
closure of businesses and organisations due to the COVID-19 New safety measures have been introduced, along with different
pandemic. In the UK there has been a significant reduction in approaches to working in close contact with others. It is already
hours worked and large numbers of contract and job losses. clear that there are lessons to be taken from lockdown into a ‘new

28 CREATIVE MAJORITY INTRODUCTION 29

normal’ that could help accessibility and work-life balance. promotes effective action. It is the result of a systematic review
More importantly society has seen that change, on a massive of existing literature on ‘What Works’ to actually make workforces
scale, is possible in a short time frame. more inclusive. It speaks to a sector that is already populated with
The same momentum now needs to be applied to equity, diversity departments, mentoring schemes, unconscious bias
diversity and inclusion (EDI). Many disabled individuals and those training (Agarwal, 2020) and many other inclusion initiatives. And
with caring responsibilities feel that their requests to work from yet the absence of specific demographic groups from the creative
home pre-pandemic have been difficult to obtain, and that and cultural industries remains (Carey et al 2021a, 2021b).
it should not have taken able-bodied and childless people to need Even where interventions have been successful, there
to do this through the pandemic to trigger a change. This report is often no systematic record of the outcome or impact.
calls for employers and the government to recognise the diverse The APPG round tables and public consultation illustrated
needs of their employees so that everyone has a chance that despite multiple examples of individual interventions,
to participate fully in creative work. there is an absence of any systemic, industry-wide, approach
Both academic and industry research have played an to inclusion. Sadly, as the discussion of the evidence reveals,
important part in identifying inequalities in creative work. Labour we just do not know the answers to key ‘What Works’ questions
force data, case studies, interview data, and individual stories in any systematic and well-evidenced way.
have been essential in increasing awareness and recognition The findings are informed by evidence submissions from
of the lack of diversity in our creative workforces. However, much those already doing the EDI work throughout the UK’s creative
of the impact has been to describe and identify the failure of EDI economy. The richness of this experience is illustrated
to change the long-term patterns of inequality and discrimination throughout the report by case studies of best and effective
in the cultural and creative sector (see for example Malik, 2013; practice and innovative thinking. In bringing these different forms
Gill, 2018; Kerrigan and O’Brien 2020; O’Brien et al, 2021). of knowledge and lived experience together, the report builds
At the same time as research has highlighted problems, on the groundwork of grassroots organisations, activists, charities,
campaigners and activists have sought change. Digitally driven guilds, support networks, training programmes and other
global events have inspired high profile movements such advocates for change who have fought for EDI to be addressed
as #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter. In turn, these movements in the UK’s creative economy.
have raised consciousness about discrimination, abuses of power There has been an understandable desire to achieve
and the need for change. Research and activism, along with the desperately needed change, and certainly, individuals and
context of the pandemic and its aftermath, has built demand organisations are testament to good practice and success
from industry and policymakers to know how best to create and stories. However, in the academic literature itself, although there
support long-lasting change. From policymakers, including Arts is strong evidence of the challenges and barriers to diversity
Council England and the BFI, to multinational businesses, such in creative professions, there is little evidence of the interventions
as Netflix, Penguin, and King, and the thousands of cultural and that have been undertaken and very weak evidence of evaluated
arts organisations that constitute the UK’s thriving creative interventions. Therefore, this report draws widely on experiments,
economy, the question of ‘What Works’ is at the forefront of and observations, and critically, recorded outcomes of EDI
thinking for a more diverse set of cultural and creative industries. interventions, from fields as diverse as education, medicine
This report builds on that momentum pointing policymakers and management studies, to bring together evidence of what
and organisations to a pragmatic approach that invites and actually works and also what does not.

30 CREATIVE MAJORITY INTRODUCTION 31

Over 40 years ago Naseem’s Khan’s The Arts Britain Ignores: the Allyship speaks to the need for industry change as fundamental
Arts of Ethnic Minorities in Britain (1978) identified key structures to ensure interventions succeed in the long term but also
of discrimination and inequalty in the state-funded sector. Similar addresses concerns that the existing workforces may have
research and policy interventions in that era highlighted gender about maintaining high standards and not pushing people out
inequality and discrimination in film and TV (Antcliff, 2005; Galt, of jobs. It provides a framework for ensuring action on diversifying
2020; Sims, 1986; Skirrow, 1981). Yet these issues, in their distinct creative workplaces is a space where all voices are heard, and
but interrelated parts of the creative economy, are still with us. an understanding that there is not a one-size-fits-all framework.
Similar stories can be told of disability, sexuality, and social class, Accessibility addresses the question of who is able to work
with the intersection of all of these demographic characteristics in the creative sector, and who has access to the most desirable
an important element of understanding who, and who does not, roles, advocating transparency and inclusiveness at every level.
gets to be a success in our cultural and creative industries. It’s also about creating an environment and working practices that
Almost 15 years ago, the final report of The Equalities Review - are designed for everyone including those with disabilities, those
the body established to carry out an investigation into the causes identifying as LGBTQ+, neurodiverse individuals, and parents and
of persistent discrimination and inequality in British society carers, as well as ensuring that being outside London and the
- identified three key problems that hold back progress: a lack South East is not a barrier to a creative career.
of agreement about what needs to happen; uncertainty about Adaptability, as will be demonstrated, is one of the primary
who should act; and the tools we have for addressing the issues keys to success for EDI. It’s what ensures that change can happen
not being fit for purpose (The Equalities Review, 2007). These and acknowledges that current systems favour particular types
problems are still with us today. of people and exclude others. It’s about practical application
To address this, the Creative Majority report provides of effective practices and provides evidence-based guides and
insights from a comprehensive review of existing evidence and toolkits for organisations of all sizes to ensure interventions are
recommendations for how, who and where to act for the most effective in producing lasting change.
effective EDI outcomes. Finally, Accountability ensures follow through on goals
The report is organised around five headline guiding principles and keeps the issue on everyone’s agenda until it is no longer
that have emerged from the literature review and evidence something people have to fight for. Most importantly,
submissions: Ambition, Allyship, Accessibility, Adaptability it encourages the measuring of EDI interventions and sharing
and Accountability. These five As provide a framework for good of successes, so that those working in the creative economy
and effective practice, and should act as benchmarks for anyone can learn from each other and demonstrate what works for
wanting to see results in EDI. creative diversity.
Ambition is at the heart of what this APPG wants to achieve. Ambition, Allyship, Accessibility, Adaptability and
Equity, diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion should be front Accountability overlap and interlock. This means that there are
and centre of all aspects of creative work, addressed at every clear crossovers and complements between each of the five As.
level of an organisation and be embedded in business, funding, At the same time, it means that what works to encourage and
and commissioning plans, and strategic planning. It encourages support diversity cannot be realised with just one or two of the
a holistic and intersectional approach to EDI, led from the top key recommendations or insights from any single guiding principle
and with an understanding of intersectionality. identified within the report.

32 CREATIVE MAJORITY INTRODUCTION 33

As the report will demonstrate, the five As are derived from the
existing academic research into ‘What Works’, and from the work
CONTEXT
of EDI specialists throughout the creative economy and further
afield. This means there will be limitations, particularly with regard
to the most recent innovations within smaller businesses, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
or by recently created campaigning organisations.
The sheer range of sectors and types of organisation within The UK’s creative economy has have not made use of the
the creative industries, from individual visual artists or design diverse talent that exists in the UK. This was one of the key
micro-businesses, through national theatres and galleries, findings of a skills monitor by the PEC (Giles et al, 2020). It was
to global film, gaming, TV, and publishing companies, means subsequently reinforced by the latest data on the UK’s creative
having a single approach to supporting diversity, even when workforce (Carey et al, 2020, 2021b).
grounded in the academic literature, is impossible. However, using Women, racially minoritised people, those with a working-
the findings and guidance contained in this report will provide class background, people with a disability, and those living
a starting point for organisations to make meaningful change. outside of London and the South East, are all significantly
The range of sectors and organisations could be an excuse underrepresented in the creative and cultural industries,
to give up, given the difficulty of producing a perfect set particularly in senior decision-making roles and key creative
of guidance to support diversity in our cultural and creative professions (see for example Bain, 2019; Brook et al, 2020;
industries. Rather, this report represents part of an ongoing Creative Industries Federation, 2014; Conor et al, 2015; Giles et al,
conversation, an ongoing set of best practices, and an ongoing 2020; Oakley et al, 2017; Randle and Harvey, 2017; and Saha, 2017).
set of struggles. This is despite greater financial returns for companies with more
A single report, as the discussion that follows will show, women and racially and ethnically diverse workforces (Dixon-
cannot solve all of the inequalities that exist within our cultural Fyle et al, 2020), greater likelihood of innovations and success
and creative industries. Indeed, relying on one report or one neat in international markets (Nathan and Lee, 2013) and higher
organisational or sector change or assuming that will be all that chances of producing ‘game changing’ hits (de Vaan et al, 2015).
is needed is to miss the point of the research literature, current Only 16 percent of the creative workforce are from working-
effective practice, and the voices of campaigners. class social origins, compared to just under one-third across the
This report represents a challenge and it is a demand. There whole UK economy (Carey et al, 2020, 2021b). Class also intersects
is a chance for policymakers, whether at national government level with other factors to create further disadvantage, so that men
such as at DCMS and BEIS; at sector level, such as within national from privileged backgrounds are five times more likely to work
Arts Councils, Creative Scotland, or the BFI; or within organisations in a creative occupation than working-class women. Someone
and businesses, to step up and lead. with a disability from a working-class background is three times
We need bold and visionary leadership to support diversity less likely to work in a creative occupation than someone who
in cultural and creative industries. As our report shows, the is privileged and able-bodied (Carey et al, 2020, 2021b).
challenges are great. Yet, bold and visionary leadership will reap Geography compounds these issues. London is crucial to the
the rewards of a diverse workforce and audience. It is a challenge creative economy, yet sector demographics do not reflect the city
to which we need policymakers to rise. that is home to much cultural and creative activity. Both Ryder et
al (2021), using Ofcom data, and Creative Diversity Network’s most

34 CREATIVE MAJORITY CONTEXT 35

recent (2020) ‘deep dive’ into Project Diamond1 data highlight the
understanding that this social process is shaped by power
gap between London’s demographics and the creative workforce.
and that inequalities are rooted in this racial hierarchy rather
Finally, in this brief summary of some of the lack
than skin colour.
of diversity seen in the demographics of the workforce, is the
The term ‘equity’ is used in the report where some might
issue of progression and leadership. It is clear from whichever
expect to see ‘equality’, and this is deliberate. For example,
of the most recent research reports are used (e.g. Carey et al,
we understand EDI to mean ‘equity, diversity and inclusion’. In the
2020, 2021b; Diamond, 2021; Ryder et al, 2021; ACE, 2021) there
Equality Act 2010, equality is used to recognise that, historically,
is an ongoing problem of diversity in senior and leadership
certain groups of people with specified protected characteristics,
positions across the creative economy.
such as race or disability, have experienced discrimination.
In addition, it argues that these personal characteristics should
UNDERSTANDING CREATIVE DIVERSITY not result in the individual having fewer choices or chances in their
life. Equity, however, goes further and recognises that equality
This report deals with issues of EDI in the workplace, and these
can only be achieved by identifying and then giving people
terms perhaps need some definition and context.
what they need to create a level playing field. Whilst both terms
The Equality Act 2010 protects people against discrimination
promote fairness, only equity argues for treating people differently
on the grounds of nine protected characteristics: age, disability,
depending on their needs.
gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy
In addition, we make references to the ‘creative industries’
and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
the ‘creative and cultural industries’ and the ‘creative economy’.
Some organisations include socioeconomic background (Jerwood
There is considerable debate around defining the creative and
Arts 2019), and increasingly other characteristics, such as caring
cultural industries at a policy and scholarly level (see Nesta
responsibilities (Bhutta, 2020), neurodiversity (Universal Music,
2013; Dent et al, 2020, Gross 2020). Since the late 1990s,
2020) and mental health (Wilkes et al, 2020), are also deemed
policy discourse that emerged from the UK’s New Labour
important. Equity is about eliminating discrimination, harrassment
government identified the ‘creative industries’ as an economic
and victimisation and creating equal opportunities. Diversity is any
celebration of creative and cultural value that intersected with
dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people
industrial competitive growth. The more recent shift towards the
from one another and is about striving to empower people
understanding of a ‘creative economy’ incorporates a broader
by respecting and appreciating what makes them different
understanding of jobs, sectors and workforces that are part
(Global Diversity Practice 2021). Inclusion refers to practices
of a wider ecosystem of social, spatial and economic activity
and the associated effort by which groups and individuals are
that creates value at multiple levels. The concept of the ‘creative
equally accepted, welcomed and treated (Global Diversity
economy’ includes industries and occupations from across the
Practice 2021).
cultural, creative, digital, tourism and telecommunications sectors
Throughout this report we use the terminology
to represent the multiple relationships and interactivity between
to describe racial and ethnic disparities outlined by Milner and
these sectors in the wider creative economy. As our roundtables
Jumbe (2020). They argue that the term ‘minoritised’, coined
and broader call for evidence have included submissions from
by Yasmin Gunaratnum (2003) provides a social constructionist
representatives and organisations across the wider creative
approach which acknowledges people are actively minoritised by
economy, we have used that term in this report. However, when
others rather than naturally existing as a minority. It provides an
quoting others or looking at specific sectors or workforces

36 CREATIVE MAJORITY CONTEXT 37

we have used the terms ‘creative and cultural industries’, such as internships, as a key problem underpinning inequalities
‘creative and cultural sectors’ accordingly. in the sector (see Brook et al, 2020 for a summary).
Project-based work also causes issues in terms of hiring.
STRUCTURAL ISSUES Often hiring decisions are based on close and closed networks,
and ‘who you know’. Informal and project-based recruitment
Academic studies have been critical of a shift in language from favours the already-dominant white, able-bodied, neurotypical,
inequality and social justice to a discourse of diversity. Ahmed upper middle-class men (see for example Grugulis and Stoyanova,
and Swan (2006), Ahmed (2012), Malik (2013), and Nwonka and 2012; Wreyford, 2015; Duberley et al, 2017; Scharff, 2017; Cobb,
Malik (2018), among others, highlight how diversity might hide 2020). This ‘hiring as cultural matching’ (Rivera, 2011; Koppman,
injustice and conceal organisations’ reluctance to engage with 2016) exacerbates both the difficulty of entry into creative
key structural and social problems, for example racism, sexism, occupations and helps to explain the monoculture found in many
or homophobia. More recently, scholars have begun to unpick the senior or leadership teams. Underrepresented groups often face
ways that particular groups are left behind in diversity initiatives a ‘one chance’ culture, and are expected to be grateful for any
(Nwonka, 2020; Cobb and Wreyford, 2020). opportunity while at the same time being expected to act
These structural issues are related to the nature of creative as a representative for their social group. If they make a mistake
work itself. Many of the problems encountered by workers in the not only are their opportunities curtailed, but others might
creative sector are heightened by the huge reliance on project- be dismissed by association.
based workers commonly identified as freelancers, a precarious Public funding for the UK’s creative and cultural industries
form of work that has been shown to intensify inequalities is disproportionately London centric. A recent report by the
(Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2010; Brook et al, 2020) and been Fabian Society illustrates that 41.4 per cent of all 2018-2022 Arts
thrown into the spotlight by the COVID-19 pandemic (Florisson Council England national portfolio organisations (NPO) funding
et al, 2021). is assigned to organisations based in London (which has 15.9
Freelancers and the self-employed were most likely percent of England’s population) (Cooper, 2020). This is equal
to have been excluded from direct government support during to £74.30 per person in the capital, compared to £19.93 in the
the pandemic, and the number of freelancers working in creative rest of England. The regional disparities in access to cultural and
jobs has decreased significantly, with younger workers and women creative opportunities across participation, consumption and
particularly affected (Florisson et al, 2021). A survey carried out employment have been exacerbated due to the combined effect
by Freelancers Make Theatre Work (2020) revealed that, for of austerity based cuts to local government councils and the
a typical production, 81 percent of the performing arts workforce concentration of private creative and cultural production
were freelancers, and 78 percent of the 96 organisations who in London and the South East. These disparities have been
took part in the survey, reported that they were extremely magnified as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
or very concerned about sustaining and developing a diverse
freelance workforce. ‘I would like policy makers to support any initiative
In creative work, it is often difficult to even talk about creative that gets stuff out of London. The big five publishers
‘careers’ (Gill, 2014). The commitment to artistic or creative
often talk about opening an office outside of
practice can blur the lines between work and unpaid labour.
London and what they mean is they will put a desk
Indeed, the literature is united in identifying unpaid or ‘free’ work,

38 CREATIVE MAJORITY CONTEXT 39

in a room in someone else’s office in Manchester
and say they’ve got an outpost. It’s not a real EVIDENCE
commitment to getting outside of London, but
it looks good. I would really like to see much less CONSIDERED
looking good and much more being good’.
Kit de Waal, Novelist, Roundtable 10
To understand ‘What Works’, this report is based on the findings
We have highlighted project-based work as a way to bring several of a systematic literature review (Booth et al, 2016) of the
structural issues together. This list is not comprehensive, and evidence on the impact of diversity and inclusion interventions
key theorists have gone far beyond the issues in creative labour in the workplace. The decision to apply a systematic approach
markets to chart structural problems rooted in the idea of artistic to the literature review was taken in the early stages of the project.
or creative genius (Banks, 2017; Belfiore, 2020; Campbell, 2020; The systematic approach was intended as an effective way
Taylor and Luckman, 2020). In turn, this idea is attached to scope out and review a large amount of existing research
to a specific type of person: the white, able-bodied, neurotypical, in order to try to reduce any bias in the expertise and experience
upper middle-class man (Becker, 2008). In this context, working of the research team.
out what works to support creative diversity, whilst expecting In order to conduct a systematic review of the literature,
those who potentially benefit from structural inequalities to make the project entered certain search terms into the search engines
changes, is a complex question. of both Google Scholar and Scopus, which is Elsevier’s abstract
and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. A number
of relevant terms were entered: ‘what works’ and then ‘diversity’,
‘inclusion’, ‘creative’, ‘culture’, ‘employment’, ‘impact’, ‘industry’,
‘collective’ and ‘intervention’. On Google Scholar this produced
an enormous list of literature in the millions (see Appendix 1, Table
1), and even when all terms were entered together and citations
excluded, the list was still 316,000 entries. Adding the filter ‘since
the year 2000’ still produced 17,900 entries - far too many for
the limitations of this project. Limiting the search to one where
the search terms appeared in the title made the sample more
manageable, resulting in a final list of 198 titles. The same terms
were entered into the Scopus citation database and produced
77,998 entries (Appendix 1, Table 1). Entries were limited across
subject area, date of publication (since 2000) and to source
type (journal articles and book chapters). In addition to these,
we collected any additional literature recommended by the
scientific committee, through the evidence submissions and
roundtable discussions and the research team itself into a third

40 CREATIVE MAJORITY EVIDENCE CONSIDERED 41

database, resulting in a further 321 entries. This gave a total
of 1,322 books, journal articles and reports.
The next stage of the systematic process was to remove
any duplicates. Following this, the abstracts were read and any
obviously non-relevant entries were removed. This included any
that did not directly consider a diversity or inclusion concern,
or where the subject was not related to employment. For example,
there were entries relating to medical screening, welfare provision,
prison and offenders that were eliminated at this stage.
This left a total of 614 books, journal articles and reports that
made up the sample of literature being reviewed (see Appendix
1, Table 2). In the process of reading and reviewing these, some
were able to be quickly discarded because a reading of the
introduction and conclusion was enough to ascertain their non-
relevance. However, some led to additional reading being added,
particularly in areas where the research team felt there was
a paucity of evidence under consideration or to go to the source
for data or information felt to be critical to this report.
The report has been further developed following a series
of roundtable discussions with representatives from across the
creative, cultural and wider industries and a series of submissions
through the public consultation into the question of ‘What Works’
for diversity and inclusion. A scientific advisory committee
of academics from King’s College London have acted as a critical
friend to the research project.
In total ten public meetings were held where evidence was
presented by around 100 contributors. Throughout this report
case studies are included from some of those who provided
evidence of interventions that had recorded and/or evaluated
outcomes. In many cases they also give a voice to the lived
experiences of those from underrepresented groups and ensure
that the recommendations are rooted in the specific concerns
of the creative sector itself. These are included as examples
of effective practice and to illustrate innovative ways
to implement the recommendations suggested by the literature.

42 CREATIVE MAJORITY EVIDENCE CONSIDERED 43

AMBITION
• UNDERSTAND THAT SHORT-TERM
INITIATIVES WILL NOT MAKE A MAJOR
DIFFERENCE

AMBITION • IMPLEMENT IMMEDIATE, MEANINGFUL

CHANGE WHEREVER POSSIBLE BY

AMBITION
ASKING EXISTING EMPLOYEES ABOUT
THEIR WORKING ENVIRONMENT AND
PROGRESS

AMBITION
• PUT INCLUSION AT THE HEART OF
CREATIVE BUSINESSES

AMBITION
• ENSURE OPPORTUNITIES PROACTIVELY
TARGET MARGINALISED GROUPS

AMBITION
• APPLY A MULTI-LEVEL APPROACH

• GIVE THOSE WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR

DIVERSITY A SEAT AT THE TOP TABLE.

AMBITION
45
‘Rather than assuming diversity ‘If an Arts organisation decides to engage
is a problem to be solved, practitioners in this question it has to come from the top.
of inclusion assume that it is a rich It has to start with the people who run the
organisation and who have the responsibility
resource to be tapped and enjoyed.‘
for taking the critical decisions artistically,
(Ferdman and Deane, 2014)
financially and every other kind, committing
The findings contained in this report make an argument for
to working closely on this issue and trying
an ambitious and holistic approach to EDI. EDI must be placed to do something about it. If it starts at the
at the heart of creative businesses and harness the diversity top then the rest of the company, whether
of the UK’s population. Moreover, EDI needs to re-attach notions it’s a small or a big company, will take the
of equity and justice to the term diversity (Ahmed, 2007b) issue seriously. Also, you have to work across
and ensure that the UK’s creative and cultural industries are the whole company. It has to be an issue for
a place of equal opportunity for all.
everybody from the Front of House staff
EDI can no longer be an additional extra, a separate
to the Actors that you employ to everybody
department or something that happens outside of the core
day-to-day running of a business or organisation. Piecemeal
across the whole company’.
initiatives that target a particular underrepresented community
David Lan, Theatre Producer, Former Artistic
or social group can reinforce difference and imply that the
Director, Young Vic, Roundtable 8
already marginalised are the ones who need training or help
to succeed, and ‘bear both the burden of and any hope for
change’ (Cobb, 2020).
Despite a significant increase in awareness of the need
for creative diversity in recent years, and a genuine desire
to see things improve, the pace of change has been too slow.
Ambitious targets can mobilise action and be a tool for
essential culture change (see Allyship below), providing the
environment to ensure a thorough assessment of existing
practices and biases (Vinnicombe et al, 2020). This report
makes an argument for an expansive notion of diversity
that seeks out redistributive justice in order to ensure
opportunities are actively targeted at what Herring and
Henderson (2015) call ‘disprivileged’ groups.

46 CREATIVE MAJORITY AMBITION 47

CASE STUDY VWVR sets out an ambitious, proactive call for those already
working in the sector and in aligned industries to work at every
A VISION FOR WOMEN IN AND VR level to ensure that as it grows, the immersive sector does
not follow other creative media, but ensures all opportunities
In 2020, the virtual reality (VR) content market was forecast are inclusive and the workforce remains as diverse as the UK
to take $14 billion in revenue. In 2018, research by King’s College population. It provides benchmarks and expectations, putting
London and the University of Brighton found that only 14 per cent EDI at the heart of all working practices and arguing for vigilance
of UK VR companies had any women directors. King’s College in ensuring it remains central to VR business and products.
London, the University of Brighton and Refiguring Innovation in
Games (ReFiG) set about addressing this by facilitating a vision www.vwvr.org
for a future where the immersive sector challenges the status quo
of gender imbalance in creative industries and tech, seizing the
opportunity to craft VR into an inclusive and healthy sector that
learns from the mistakes of other media sectors.
In autumn 2017, a group of women who work in the fledgling
UK VR industry came together for two days to explore how VR,
as it evolves, can show off our society’s best self, with regards
to gender equality. Using the Creative Collaboratory Method
(Kennedy et al, 2020), this group created A Vision for Women
and VR (VWVR). This collective visionary document that brings
together the experiences and expertise of women working in this
new industry to ensure this transformative media is influenced
by both men and women, reflects society, shapes mainstream
culture and affects behavioural change.
The vision statement is a set of expectations that address
some of the main issues surrounding women and VR. It covers
four main areas. ‘Representation of the Industry’ looks at how VR
can ensure it is an inclusive and welcoming place for all who might
consider a career in VR and sets up a series of expectations. ‘Roles
and Teams’ cautions about falling into stereotyped assumptions
based on gender or other personal characteristics. ‘Products and
Commissioning’ addresses the dire need for tech creators to both
design and market their technical products and merchandise
as gender neutral and with equal resources. ‘Industry Culture’
argues for empathy for workers with caring responsibilities and
zero tolerance for sexual harassment or other misconduct.

48 CREATIVE MAJORITY AMBITION 49

The Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks (O’Mara and Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks:
Richter, 2017 see box over page) suggest that companies start Standards for Organizations Around the World
by setting a target for the outcomes that they want to achieve. O’Mara and Richter (2017)
They then caution that the scope of issues and the dimensions
to be considered to achieve their goals are broader than many These approaches show the vast scope
realise, and require significant competencies that may not always of the D&I field:
be found within an organisation. The Benchmarks recommend
a small team of internal and/or external specialists work with
• Competence: Improving skills, knowledge, and
senior personnel to develop a strategy; that the goals, strategy
ability
and impacts are regularly measured and assessed; and,
if necessary, the goals and strategy are reworked.
• Compliance: Complying with laws and
regulations
‘Sometimes as D&I Leaders everybody wants • Dignity: Affirming the value and
us to give the good news, or give bad news in interconnectedness of every person
a really palatable way. When you get external • Organisation development: Improving
consultants to come in they can hold a mirror organisational performance
up to the organisation and actually tell the real • Social justice: Treating people equitably
truth and actually showcase what employees and ethically
are really feeling’.
Wincie Knight, Senior Director of Global Inclusion
Strategy, ViacomCBS, Roundtable 1

A MULTI-LEVEL APPROACH

• Effective EDI needs an approach that includes all levels:

senior management support; commitment from hirers,
managers and strategic planners; cultural competence
across all employees; and a voice for the marginalised.

Evidence from education research suggests that increasing

diversity requires a ‘multi-level approach’ (Stephens et al,
2020) where inclusion is tackled in several areas at once. This
means reducing the bias of individuals and the companies and
organisations they work in at the same time, since working and
recruitment practices can still cause exclusion even when the

50 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT EVIDENCE CONSIDERED 51

individuals themselves are not biased. For effective change, EDI CASE STUDY
must stay on the agenda at all levels, keeping it in front of key
stakeholders until it is no longer an issue (Heffes, 2009). NBCUNIVERSAL
Locating responsibility for diversity, in the form of diversity
leads or diversity councils, has been shown to result in significant Established in 2017 as a D&I department for the feature film
gains for women and racially minoritised people in managerial industry by Universal Filmed Entertainment Group Chairman
positions (Kalev et al, 2006). Without these, short-term initiatives Donna Langley, Global Talent Development and Inclusion (GTDI)
aimed at reducing individual bias, such as diversity training, expanded in 2020 to add television and streaming. GTDI’s film
made very little difference to inclusion (Kalev et al, 2006). programmes and initiatives have shown consistent growth
In fact, diversity training has been shown to activate bias rather that has led to real institutional change across the studio
than reduce it (Kidder et al, 2004; Bohnet, 2016) and can have and throughout the industry.
a negative effect on the promotion of those from a racially The Universal Writers Program is a paid programme for
minoritised people (Krawiec, 2003). film screenwriters who incorporate multicultural and global
Research from management studies indicates that structural perspectives in screenwriting. The Universal Directors Initiative
and status divides between those responsible for overseeing champions women and other underrepresented directors
diversity recruitment and those who make the final hiring by creating access and awareness amongst the studio’s
decisions are a key barrier to the failure of diversity programmes production executives, filmmakers and producers. Participating
(Riviera, 2012). It is therefore important that those responsible for directors are sourced from Sundance Institute’s Momentum
overseeing improvements in workplace diversity have authority Fellows, AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, The Geena Davis
and participate in the hiring decisions right up to the end of the Institute-led Bentonville Film Festival Foundation’s See It Be It,
process. If those with a responsibility for EDI are separated from Be It Filmmaker Fellowship, American Black Film Festival and
those involved in the day-to-day business of their company Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. 51 per cent of film
or institution, then EDI activities risk being little more than alumni have gained career momentum (64 percent of these are
impression management, having the appearance of being women),​and half of their credits are with​NBCUniversal.
committed to including marginalised groups while the hiring Writers on the Verge is an annual programme to develop
of revenue generating professionals remains unconnected and strengthen the writing skills of underrepresented groups.
to EDI concerns (Riviera, 2016). Upon completion, writers are considered for writing assignments
on NBCU television series. Female Forward and the Emerging
Directors Program provide shadowing opportunities for women
and those from other underrepresented groups on series, and
develop relationships with executives and producers involved
in the hiring process. Both provide a guarantee to direct at least
one NBCU television episode.​

52 CREATIVE MAJORITY AMBITION 53

The Universal Animation Writers Program is a one-year paid A SEAT AT THE TOP TABLE
programme, in partnership with DreamWorks Animation,
Illumination, 1440 Entertainment and Universal Kids. The Universal • Support from senior management and at board level
Composers Initiative identifies artists from both traditional significantly improves the chances of success in EDI
and unconventional backgrounds that possess unique, global initiatives. Those responsible for EDI should have power
perspectives they can translate into distinctive musical expressions. at the top of the organisation and EDI should be at the
Notable NBCU alumni include: Amie Doherty who scored core of all business activities.
Focus Features’ The High Note and DreamWorks Animation’s
upcoming Spirit Untamed. Leon Hendrix III will co-write ‘These discussions shouldn’t be started by junior
and executive produce Cointelpro, a drama in development or diverse members of your workforce, they have
at Peacock. Jenny Hagel was hired as showrunner for The Amber
to come from senior management. They are the
Ruffin Show and also writes for Late Night with Seth Meyers.
people who set your culture’.
Maya Houston was staff on The CW’s Batwoman. Katie Locke
O’Brien directed episodes of Kenan. Chelsea Davison was hired
Charlie Harris, Senior Producer,
as the head writer for A Little Late with Lilly Singh. Sega Europe, Roundtable 3

Like most organisational change, top management support is the

most important predictor of success (Bassi and Russ-Elf, 1997).
Research on change agents shows that senior leaders are effective
especially where they are not seen as belonging to the group that
they are advocating for, as it removes any accusation of self-
interest (Kelan, 2020; De Vries, 2015). As white, able-bodied men
from higher socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to be
found in positions of power and influence in the creative sector,
they are also best positioned to bring about change if they can
recognise their own privilege (De Vries, 2015; Brook et al, 2020).
Changing leadership has further benefits in terms
of supporting and developing inclusive organisations. For example,
firms with gender-diverse leadership have been shown to be more
likely to offer LGBTQ+-friendly policies (Cook and Glass, 2016).
Dr Joanne Entwistle of King’s College London told the APPG that
since Edward Enninful took over as editor of British Vogue, there
has been an increase in the number of Black models on the cover2,
indicating that a leadership that understands diversity beyond
face value can make impactful changes happen quickly.

54 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT AMBITION 55

‘At the highest level you need to have executive ‘Diversity is a variety of cultures and perspectives
buy-in. You need to have a champion within the working together to solve business problems’.
organisation who is senior enough to prioritise (Smith and Turner 2015, p8)
this. Once you have that, it’s a matter of doing
some very tactical things. From an inclusiveness
EQUALITY AND THE LAW
perspective, visibility is the thing I’ve seen work
the most directly. The more visible different • The Equality Act 2010 offers an important resource
groups are within an organisation, the more to support and encourage creative diversity
included they tend to feel. The second thing
is setting up employer resource groups, setting Our roundtable participants described key failings in the hiring
up affinity groups for people with diverse process across the creative and cultural industries. Although
backgrounds, which gives them an opportunity hiring is intended to ensure candidates are judged fairly
on merit and their suitability for the job, in practice there
to have conversations that they wouldn’t
is much evidence to say that recruitment processes rely
normally have and surface resources that might
heavily on subjective judgements (Goldin and Rouse, 2000;
otherwise go unnoticed’. Wreyford, 2015). Hiring is too often a form of ‘cultural matching’
Alykhan Kaba, Business Lead, Office of the CMO, (Koppman, 2016) and led by ‘cultural fit’ rather than ‘culture
Activision Blizzard, Roundtable 1 add’. Similarity to individuals making hiring decisions, rather
than fairness and merit, are rewarded. In turn, this process
A study by Deloitte University Leadership Centre for Inclusion, undermines hiring and commissioning attempts to recognise
in collaboration with the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative, talent and hard work (Banks, 2017; Littler, 2017).
showed that companies who do not adopt more inclusive
policies and practices risk becoming unattractive to younger ​​ most of these industries there’s a kind
‘In
groups. By 2025 those born after 1980 will make up a significant of historical legacy of who’s done this kind
proportion of the workforce, and evidence suggests that this
of work in the past and how they’ve been able
cohort views diversity and inclusion as a necessary business
to embed, even institutionalise, their own ways
strategy essential for innovative and rewarding work (Smith
and Turner, 2015). Younger cohorts do not see diversity
of being that still, in the present, are able to shape
as a moral imperative to be inclusive of different demographics; taken-for-granted ideas about who is appropriate
rather diversity reflects younger cohorts understanding that to promote and progress, and that’s basically the
organisational culture should have respect for individual legacy of white, privileged men in this country
identities and experiences (ibid). in almost every elite industry. What’s being valued
is a misrecognition of merit that tilts in favour
of behavioural codes and forms of self-
presentation that dominant groups and yes,

56 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT EVIDENCE CONSIDERED 57

people from privileged backgrounds but also ‘There’s a strong sense that everyone who
this is hugely racialised and gendered, around is at the top is there because they are the best
acceptable ways of being in the workplace’. people for the role and that’s very damaging
Sam Friedman, Associate Professor of Sociology, because it prevents us from looking for talent
London School of Economics and Commissioner, elsewhere. In music, particularly classical,
Social Mobility Commission, Roundtable 7. there’s a sense that the artform has reached
a pinnacle, that it could not possibly get any
In the UK, treating one person more favourably than another better thanit already is. Again, that is very
because they have a protected characteristic is unlawful dangerous because it robs one of the key drivers
under the Equality Act 20103. The Equality Act’s nine protected for diversity and inclusion, which is to make the
characteristics allow for positive action to encourage and train art form better. There isn’t the drive to bring new
people from underrepresented groups, such as targets, but not people in to change things and to push a more
for positive discrimination, such as quotas.
creative output or a better creative output’.
The Act legislates against employment policies that affect
Robert Adediran, EDI Consultant and Former
one group of people disproportionately. However, very few people
are in a position to challenge this, particularly when applying for
Executive Director, London Music Masters,
work, and particularly in the creative sector where reputation and Roundtable 1
on-going relationships are a key aspect of securing future work
(Blair, 2001; Brook et al. 2020; Scharff, 2017; Wreyford, 2018).
At the APPG’s evidence roundtables, some of the discussion
of the legislation focused on how difficult it was to enforce.
Examples include the way that it is unlawful to discriminate
against women who are pregnant or on maternity leave, but in
reality one in nine pregnant women lose their job (Brearly, 2021).
Sara Whybrew, Director of Policy and Development
at Creative and Cultural Skills,4 an organisation working to create
fair and inclusive opportunities for young people within the
creative and cultural sectors, believes that employers need
to be educated about their legal obligations to all workers
and service providers, not just employees, as many are not
even aware that they are contravening the law.5

58 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT EVIDENCE CONSIDERED 59

CASE STUDY Discussions of the Equality Act during the roundtables suggested
that some of the tools to support creative diversity are already
RAISING FILMS within the hands of policymakers, funders, and creative
organisations. However, more leadership needs to be shown on
Raising Films is a UK-based campaigning and community explaining both the responsibilities, as well as the opportunities,
organisation that addresses workplace inequality in the screen for creative diversity that are contained within the Act.
sector by illustrating the issue of care as a barrier that prevents
many women screenworkers from pursuing their careers. Policy recommendations for Ambition
The organisation was founded in 2015 by a group of filmmakers
who wanted to start a conversation about being a parent, carer THE FIVE As POLICY
and a filmmaker. Initial conversations developed into an online
RECOMMENDATIONS
presence, a blog that invited contributors to share their
experiences of screen labour and care and has now evolved
into a campaigning organisation and community that provides AMBITION
training and support for carers/creative workers and
commissions independent research to inform and lobby For government:
for structural and cultural change.
Since their first research report Making It Possible was • The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
published in 2016, Raising Films have commissioned a series (DCMS) and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
of investigations into the impact of caregiving responsibilities (BEIS), along with the Government Equalities Office must
on screen workers. In 2017, Raising Films published the Raising do more to educate and inform employers about their
Our Game research report, which addressed the absence responsibilities towards all workers and service providers
of a robust accountability framework and its impact on workers under the Equality Act 2010
in the UK screen sectors. The report included a series of targeted
checklists aimed at four levels of engagement: individual workers; As our roundtables, and our review of the academic literature
employers of productions, singular and short-term projects; makes clear, many of the tools needed to foster diversity
companies and organisations across both the commercial and in the creative economy are in existing legislation. Yet across
public funded sectors; and finally guilds, standards and schemes. the differing and distinctive organisations and businesses
These checklists provide relevant information on the Equality in the creative economy, more needs to be done to raise
Act 2010 and other relevant work-based legislation with targeted awareness of the Equality Act’s provisions.
recommendations for the employment models of the screen
sector. This sector-appropriate application of the relevant • DCMS, working with its arms-length bodies such as Arts
workplace legislation provides a necessary HR intervention Council England (ACE) and the British Film Institute (BFI)
and tool for a sector that has a critical lack of HR support and the devolved administrations and their creative
and knowledge. industries policy organisations such as Creative Scotland,
should make public funding across the sector subject
www.raisingfilms.com to strict compliance with the Equality Act 2010.

60 CREATIVE MAJORITY AMBITION 61

 Public funding is a powerful tool to incentivise change. It has • Give those responsible for EDI the time and resources
a variety of forms, from tax incentives to direct investments to be proactive in recruitment networks and really get
or subsidies. Yet it has been under-developed as a means to know the sources of a diverse candidate pool.
of promoting and supporting diversity. An ambitious strategy
of funding incentives should sit alongside any government It takes time to build relationships that deliver the right people.
campaign to raise awareness of the Equality Act and It is essential that businesses and organisations understand
its protections. the challenges faced by potential candidates and employees
so that they can be successful in the recruitment process.
• As recommended by the Arts and Humanities Research
Council’s Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre
(PEC), the Government should consider calls for
a Freelance Commissioner.

One of the primary ambitions of this Commissioner should

be to improve national data collection on types and structures
of self-employment and to ensure resources are distributed
more equally to those in different types of employment,
including giving freelancers better access to benefits such
as sick pay and maternity pay. A Freelance Commissioner
should also interrogate whether freelancers are overly relied
upon in creative sector workforces.

For organisations and businesses:

• Organisations should monitor employee, workforce, and

commissioning data, and set targets to deliver creative
diversity. This must include the freelance workforce.

No matter what the size of an organisation, from the BBC or

Netflix through to the smallest microbusinesses in publishing,
music, gaming or theatre, being ambitious about diversity is 1
 roject Diamond is ‘a single online system used by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4,
P
crucial. In this context, target setting is vital for organisations, Channel 5 and Sky to obtain consistent diversity data on programmes they
commission’’. It can be accessed at: https://creativediversitynetwork.com/
as is reporting on progress and responses to failure. diamond/
2
Roundtable 2, see Appendix 2
3
The Equality Act can be accessed here
www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
4
www.ccskills.org.uk/
5
Roundtable 1, see Appendix 2

62 CREATIVE MAJORITY AMBITION 63

ALLYSHIP
• ACCEPT THAT DIVERSITY TRAINING
WITHOUT STRUCTURAL, CULTURAL,
AND ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE DOES

ALLYSHIP
NOT WORK

• EDUCATE WORKERS ABOUT

INCLUSION SO EVERYONE IS FLUENT IN

ALLYSHIP
ARTICULATING AND UNDERSTANDING
DIFFERENCES IN EXPERIENCE

ALLYSHIP
• GIVE A VOICE TO MARGINALISED
GROUPS AND LEARN FROM THEIR LIVED
EXPERIENCE

ALLYSHIP
• ORGANISE SPONSORSHIP SCHEMES
FOR ALL WORKERS FROM A
MARGINALISED GROUP

ALLYSHIP • CHOOSE SPONSORS WHO HAVE THE

ABILITY TO ADVANCE THE CAREER OF
THEIR SPONSEE

• MAKE SPONSORS ACCOUNTABLE FOR

THE CAREER PROGRESSION OF THEIR
SPONSEE.
65
‘When you frame the discussion in terms happens when employers are ready to question their own
of things that are more topical, like gender, assumptions and are genuinely curious about reviewing their
working practices and recruitment strategies in order to make
LGBTQ+, racial identity, people can default
them more inclusive. (Bohnet, 2016)
into language that is in the newspapers.
So we give them a framework of allyship, ‘What I rarely see are conversations around
and that has yielded some results. So, for diversity that are just about valuing difference
example, someone may have cancer and you in all its guises, so that we nurture a culture
would be an ally to them. We started to see that really values difference. The truth is if we
a shift in people’s awareness and understanding increase the percentage of one characteristic
of how being reflective can make them more over another in the workplace, that doesn’t mean
that people with that characteristic are getting
of an ally. You would never say to someone with
equal opportunity, it just means they’re in the
cancer that you breakdown and cry more than
workplace, and I’m not sure that’s good enough.
they do and how hard it is for you to be around Do we just want there to be representation
someone with cancer, so when someone or do we want people to have equal access
says they’ve experienced racism, sexism, to all opportunities? I think we want the latter’.
or homophobia, you would also listen to them Sara Whybrew, Director of Policy and
and ask how you can help and how you can Development, Creative and Cultural Skills,
show up for them. Roundtable 1
Marvyn Harrison, Chief Growth Officer
at BELOVD Agency and Founder CULTURE CHANGE
of Dope Black CIC, Roundtable 9
• Nuanced understanding of the experiences of marginalised
individuals and groups is an essential starting point
One of the main reasons why much diversity training fails is that for change.
it lacks follow-through outside of the training environment (Dobbin
and Kalev, 2016). It is also critical that those taking part in the Potent long-lasting change requires continuous
training understand why diversity is important and are guided
self-examination, personal change, workplace
towards a genuine interest in increasing diversity to prevent
evaluation, workplace change, never giving up,
negative impacts or even a backlash (Stephens et al, 2020).
Increased visibility of issues can signal a disruption of the
never getting comfortable with the status quo.
status quo, which can in turn increase fear in existing workers (Bassi and Russ-Elf, 1997)
of how they might be personally affected (Bohnet, 2016). Progress

66 CREATIVE MAJORITY ALLYSHIP 67

The past few years have seen various creative and cultural sectors Educating workers about inclusion on an on-going basis
forced to confront toxic working cultures in an unprecedented (Heffes, 2009) is less likely to create resentments about EDI
way. Revelations of widespread abuses of power have been interventions. Helping everyone to understand the variety
brought to light by many women and some men coming forward of experiences among people who are less like them disrupts
to share their stories of abuse by powerful men such as Harvey a working culture dominated by the views and values of the
Weinstein, Bill Cosby and Kevin Spacey (Desta, 2020; Durkin, majority group (Bond and Pyle, 1998). Some basic examples
2018; Farrow, 2017). These revelations, alongside the global of creating a more inclusive culture at work include recognising
#MeToo movement, are still uncovering abusive individuals religious holidays and important calendar events from a variety
and workplaces indicating how widespread the problem of cultures (Jordan, 1999).
is (Kale, 2021; Goldbart, 2021). The gaming industry has begun In particular, it is essential to understand that ‘norms’
to face up to its toxic culture as a result of #Gamergate are not neutral but have been shaped by the dominant social
(VanDerWerff, 2014) and anonymous accounts such group (Stephens et al, 2019). It might be difficult for people from
as Instagram’s @shitmenintvhavesaidtome suggest that a marginalised group to speak about their experiences, especially
the process of dismantling a culture of silence and turning if they are the only representative of a particular community.
a blind eye has begun, but there is clearly still a long way to go. A culture of drinking after work, often where opportunities
are discussed and relationships cemented, can exclude people
If we want to create a culture where people are who do not drink for religious or faith-based reasons, have
not scared to speak their truth, we need to create caring responsibilities, or even simply have health concerns
(Abeyie 2019).
a culture of allies. If you are a Black man, you
Research from both engineering and education has identified
need to support your female co-worker when she
the ‘chilly climate’ that women may experience when they enter
is calling out sexism. If you are a white woman, male-dominated fields (Walton et al, 2015), whether as the result
support your Black co-worker when they are of masculine ‘ambient cultures’, ‘subtle behavioral biases’ (Ramsey
advocating policies to combat ethnicity pay gaps. et al, 2013) or even explicit messages that they are unwelcome
And white men, well, you guys just have and do not fit in. Small changes can help, such as employing
to support everyone! enough of a marginalised group that a ‘critical mass’ is achieved
(Henry and Ryder, 2021) (Tandoh-Offin, 2010), or eliminating stereotypical posters, adverts,
signs and assumptions (Ramsey et al, 2013).
Women and members of the LGBTQ+ communities far too often Without a culture of inclusion and belonging, people
must confront issues of sexual harassment in the workplace in a group that is underrepresented can still feel marginalised
(Herring and Henderson, 2015). Workplaces where gendered even when employed. In turn this can lead to underperformance
segregation by job type is common, such as film and TV crews, and individuals being evaluated more negatively. This cycle
theatrical crews and in advertising, have been shown to be less perpetuates the idea that increasing diversity leads to a drop
proactive in deterring sexual harassment (Herring and Henderson, in standards, rather than understanding that the workplace
2015). Dress codes can inavertently exclude, such as black tie itself may be anti-diversity (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2020). Feeling
events that can put off non-binary individuals from attending that ‘you do not quite belong’ has been shown to also have
(Abeyie, 2019). considerable impact on those individual’s wellbeing and mental

68 CREATIVE MAJORITY ALLYSHIP 69

health (Walton et al, 2015). Amir Kabel, Global Director, Diversity background, history, and complexity of the issues at play in the
and Inclusion at Burberry, called it ‘a revolving door’, saying that workplace and the world’. Without nuance it can be difficult
if you bring women or people of colour into your organisation but to understand why apparently small things might have negative
do not create a culture of inclusion, they will walk out of the door effects on an individual’s success or happiness in the workplace.
as fast as they came in6. Nuance helps recognise daily micro-inequalities that people face.
Nuance also helps to not dismiss micro-inequalities as ‘just part
‘The diversity issue is a big problem in festivals. of the job’. It contributes to the creation of an environment for
It’s a shame because it is a popular industry allyship. Nuance promotes the need to understand how or why
some subjects or terms can be offensive, and advocates effective
for Black people doing events at university.
practices such as not grouping different types of people together
My honest opinion as to why that is? There
for convenience.
is not enough accessibility and there’s a lot In the context of nuance, The Female FTSE Board Report
of difficulty with what it takes to be a part 2020, Taking Targets Seriously (Vinnicombe et al, 2020) also uses
of a live industry. And by that I mean relationships the term ‘race fluency’ as a necessity for HR professionals and
with the councils, relationships with the police, other organisational or project leaders. They define race fluency
the connotations of certain types of music and as ‘the degree of confidence and proficiency in understanding
specifically Black music, and I think without and articulating differences in experiences and career outcomes
for employees of different ethnic backgrounds’ and argue that
support a lot of these young people really
it should underpin commitments to change. This concept of
struggle to get into that world. Quite frankly
‘fluency’ can be usefully applied beyond questions of racial
they are blocked. We’ve got an amazing team equality, and clearly offers insights in the context of sectors
of seven at Strawberries and Creem, super- where other groups are underrepresented.
diverse, both in terms of race and gender, but Women from racially marginalised groups can benefit from
we made a decision in our third year not to send sponsorship (see below), particularly if it is from a person who
the Black members of the team go to the venues also acts as a role model (Valverde and Brown, 1988), even if this
because all three years we did we were told we role model is a racially minoritised man, or a white woman. This
may indeed be necessary because of the lack of women of colour
couldn’t have the venues because the clientele
in more senior roles in so many creative professions. It is less
wasn’t right. In the three years following we got
common to see white men mentoring, promoting or employing
the venue every year’. racially minoritised women, something that has been evidenced
Preye Crooks, Senior A&R Manager at Columbia in both American education administration (Valverde and Brown,
Records / Sony Music and Co-Founder of 1988) and UK film production (Cobb and Wreyford, 2021). As
Strawberries and Creem Festival, Roundtable 6 already discussed, privileged white men still hold the majority
of positions of power in the UK’s creative and cultural industries,
Nuance and inclusive cultural competence are important ways and therefore healthy culture change would see more of them
of creating an inclusive creative sector. Wheeler (2014, p.553) providing sponsorship and guidance to those unlike themselves.
defines nuance in cultural competence as ‘understanding the

70 CREATIVE MAJORITY ALLYSHIP 71

‘When we started the campaign around A meta-analysis of 426 studies of unconscious bias and
disability and actually creating a dialogue, explicit bias training found very weak effects. Anti-bias training
the level of lack of understanding and can in fact activate stereotypes, reinforce them, or make people
perception and the biases people have takes think they’ve done enough just by completing the training
(Dobbin and Kalev, 2018). Worse still, diversity training has been
over everything. The first thing that my CEO
shown to make people angry and resentful and increase hostility
came back to me with was: ‘This is going to cost
to marginalised groups (Dobbin and Kalev, 2016).
money - we have to adapt all our offices’. That Psychological research has identified key strategies
perception is a myth because over 80 per cent for reducing an individual’s biases. These include increased
of disabilities are hidden. They’ve got nothing interaction with people from different backgrounds or social
to do with wheelchairs or anything like that. groups (Dobbin and Kalev, 2018), an understanding of moral
So there’s a lack of awareness and fear of the licensing (Bohnet, 2016) and ensuring multiculturalism is framed
unknown. Somebody came out to their manager as inclusive of the majority culture (Dobbin and Kalev, 2018).
Research from education also suggests that mandated training
as autistic, and he didn’t know how to handle
can do more harm than good, but the right kind of training
it. He didn’t know how to have a conversation.
interventions can markedly increase diversity (Dobbin and
That level of compassion and emotional Kalev, 2018).
intelligence of how to respond to somebody Similarly, training schemes that target already marginalised
opening up to you completely paralysed him, groups as if they are somehow the problem are also ineffective.
so that stops people short of actually Sir Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder explain why training
addressing the situation in the workplace’. as a strategy to solve diversity in film and television does not
Faizah Tahir, Head of Diversity and Talent work to progress people from a racially minoritised group into
jobs and careers: ‘Separate diversity training schemes essentially
Development, OSTC, Roundtable 9
devalue the entire process by creating a subset of candidates
requiring ‘remedial’ attention. … they create the appearance of
doing something, while simultaneously doing absolutely nothing
THE RIGHT KIND OF TRAINING to improve diversity’ (Henry and Ryder, 2021, p47-48). Indeed,
they call it ‘the infantilisation of the Black, Asian and minority
• Diversity training alone will not solve the problems ethnic workforce’ (p.56).
facing cultural and creative industries.

Diversity training doesn’t work in organisations who do not

create a culture for change through a tangible commitment
to equality (Jordan, 1999). Research from the field of work
and organizations show that most current diversity training has
little or no effect on the careers of women and people from an
underrepresented ethnic background (Dobbin and Kalev, 2018).

72 CREATIVE MAJORITY ALLYSHIP 73

‘What Ukie does every single year alongside CASE STUDY
Games London is they support a moving photo
exhibition called Ensemble. What Ensemble FROZEN LIGHT
does is bring together people of Black, Asian and GIVING EVERYONE A SEAT AT THE TABLE
minority backgrounds and showcase the work
Frozen Light is an innovative charity and theatre company that
they’ve done and that’s led to people’s careers
creates multi-sensory theatre productions for audiences with
being enhanced and a personal satisfaction for profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD). Over the past
me of seeing people who look like me and are seven years, Frozen Light has created eight theatre productions,
doing really well in the industry’. toured them to over 70 different venues across the UK and
performed over 500 shows. In 2016, they were the first company
https://games.london/ensemble/ Anderona Cole, ever to tour a show specifically accessible for audiences with
Former Policy and Public Affairs Officer, Ukie, PMLD to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Their last production, The
Roundtable 3 Isle of Brimsker, toured extensively throughout 2018 and 2019 and
was seen by more than 1,700 people. In 2021 they are premiering
two new shows: an outdoor installation and their fifth touring
production, the multi-sensory sci-fi extravaganza, 2065.

Tools for reducing bias in the workplace:

‘… they show perfectly how theatre can and
should push the boundaries and be a place
• Increase intergroup contact.
of accessible exploration and inclusion for all.’
• Counter stereotypes.
Opening Night
• Perspective-taking.
• Try reverse mentoring: giving a voice
to underrepresented groups through pairing When performing in mainstream venues Frozen Light provides
training to enable staff to understand how to create safe, warm
them with executives.
and welcoming spaces for audiences with PMLD. Frozen Light
• Create diversity task forces, bringing together
also shows venues and festivals how to market themselves
people from different specialisms and at successfully to the PMLD community. This work requires mapping
different levels. and contacting day centres, learning disability organisations and
SEN schools to reach this audience, with more than 50 per cent
first-time theatre goers. They seek to ensure that all communities
are represented in the leadership and decision making forums
of cultural organisations, and are welcomed into accessible arts
spaces and venues.

74 CREATIVE MAJORITY ALLYSHIP 75

In 2020 Frozen Light proactively recruited trustees from GIVING A VOICE TO THE MARGINALISED
communities underrepresented within its governance, including AND LIVED EXPERIENCE
people who self-identify as disabled or from Black, Asian and
ethnically diverse communities. Frozen Light is positive in its • The norm of a privileged, heterosexual, cisgendered and
messaging to applicants, clearly communicating that they want able-bodied white man must be challenged and overturned.
everyone to feel welcome to apply, especially people who are • Grassroots and campaigning groups need to be made part
neuro divergent, D/deaf, disabled and/or, from ethnically diverse of a sustainable infrastructure for the creative sector.
backgrounds. They provide recruitment information in a range
of formats, including Easy Read, video and audio and welcome Richie Booker, Diversity and Belonging Lead at Hearst Europe,
people applying using the format that suits them. argues for what he calls ‘considered representation’, where
marginalised people are not just in the room, but given a platform
They guarantee auditions and interviews to applicants from to speak. Employee support groups and networks have been
communities underrepresented in the current workforce. shown to be effective in giving LGBTQ+ individuals a voice
They use tools such as Inc Arts Unlocked7, that are designed (Kerrigan and O’Brien, 2020), but they require people to feel able
to support organisations to bring their anti-racist commitments to be open about their sexuality (Colgan and McKearney, 2012),
to life in arts workplaces, to develop a more inclusive recruitment something which is not always safe, productive or desirable for
process and seek the advice of critical friends to guide the the individuals involved (Kerrigan and O’Brien, 2020). Charlie
recruitment processes and analyse progress. They have a space Harris, Senior Producer at Sega Europe encouraged companies
reserved for a freelancer on the board to ensure they have a role to give underrepresented people a chance to form a community
in decision making. and be given a budget to do so. Then, she said, senior sponsors
and allies need to make time to listen to their recommendations
Frozen Light has an explicit commitment in all funding applications and their concerns9.
to reserve places on training courses for artists who are neuro Concealment is not an option for those who begin
divergent, D/deaf, disabled and/or who are from ethnically diverse transitioning (Rudin et al, 2014), and they are very likely to suffer
backgrounds. All participants are paid a minimum of £120 per day discrimination. To these workers, toilet access is an important
and provided with transport and accommodation to prevent cost issue and reducing sex-segregated facilities can be an important
being a barrier to participation. signal of inclusion to all forms of gender expression (Rudin et al,
LISED 2014), as can normalising and encouraging the practice
of volunteering personal pronouns (Kang and Kaplan, 2019).
Alasdair Henderson, Global Director, HR Business Partnering
at BAM Nuttall, described the stages of maturity he had witnessed
in employee network groups, in particular the Women in Science
and Engineering Group at BAM Nuttell (WISE at BAM):
‘It’s interesting when you watch networks mature. They form
and tend to be members of the group itself, and discuss the topic
of the group and what the issues of being part of that community
is. Then they step through a phase where they become more open

76 CREATIVE MAJORITY ALLYSHIP 77

and for example we have plenty of men in our WISE at BAM group. Richie Booker described a racial and gendered segregation seen
That changes the nature of the conversation in a very helpful and in the publishing industry that is recognisable in other creative
positive way. And the third stage of maturity we see is when those sectors: men and women from a racially minoritised background
groups stop talking uniquely about the issues of the community sitting at the bottom of the career ladder doing front-facing jobs,
and start talking about business issues and giving the business with little chance for promotion.
perspectives from that community and that’s when they start This contrasts with a middle management that is dominated
to become really effective and start to influence board thinking by white women and white men holding most of the positions
and the business decisions we make’.10 at the top of the tree.11 These white men hold most of the hiring
power and consider an ideal worker to be someone most like
‘Organisations need a thorough grounding them, most frequently a white man with no caring responsibilities
or other demands on his time (Kelan, 2008; Friedman and O’Brien,
in the social model of disability. People and
2017; Brook et al, 2020; 2021).
organisations need to be moved away from
Normalised and problematic perceptions of women as
a medicalised way of thinking about disability, potential caregivers decreases their value within the creative
which is essentially a deficit model that is about workplace (Dent, 2019; Wreyford, 2018). Women from a minoritised
what disabled people can’t do. It’s about making racial background are doubly disadvantaged when held up
assumptions about what disabled people can to a white male ‘ideal’ worker model. Research from education
do and how well, or not and therefore the kind shows that certain groups of women lack role models, mentors
of work that we may or may not produce and or sponsors to guide them through the socialisation process that
moves individuals into the most desirable positions, and often
where that might fit within a programme.
end up in dead-end jobs with no prospects as a result (Allen
So a really thorough grounding in the social
et al, 1995; Ingram and Alen, 2018; Stephens et al, 2019). Indeed
mobility model of disability gives people working the evidence suggests that these women can be employed
in theatres a vocabulary, the confidence and in a tokenistic way (Allen et al, 1995; Cobb and Wreyford, 2021)
actually the mandate to engage in some really and receive different treatment, often being assigned to limited
creative problem solving. And it puts the opportunities because of their racial background (ibid).
responsibility where it belongs. Disabled In Access All Areas (2021), Sir Lenny Henry describes his
people are not disadvantaged or vulnerable; realisation that to survive in television you were expected
to ‘dispense with your Black working-class taste and align more
we are made disadvantaged and vulnerable.
with your boss’s preferences’ (p.35). Rethinking Diversity in
And it releases people from believing they
Publishing (Saha and van Lente, 2020) argues that publishers
have to have knowledge of medical conditions’. fear that books written by writers of colour are too niche and
Michèle Taylor, Director for Change, Ramps worry that they will not appeal to their assumed current core
on the Moon and Disability Equality Consultant, audience of white, middle-class women. The report urges
Roundtable 8 publishers to challenge their assumptions and engage with more
diverse audiences. Novelist Kit de Waal - who crowd-funded and
produced Common People (2019), an anthology of working class

78 CREATIVE MAJORITY ALLYSHIP 79

writers - attributes the success of her online book festival ‘Look at who is least like you and make sure
Big Book Weekend (which was attended by 117,000 people) you include their opinion in the discussion.
to targeting the panels and events at ‘seldom readers’: Use different communication channels
‘We didn’t go to the people who would go to the festival to get people’s input. Not everyone is always
anyway. We said we would ignore those people because they’re
comfortable speaking in a meeting but can
going to come whatever you do. We targeted people who are
express how they feel via email. Actively seek out
seldom readers – people who buy one book a year, probably
at Christmas, probably for someone else. We made the subject
different perspectives. It’s about giving people
relevant to people who don’t buy books. We made the titles, not opportunities to attend meetings when you might
‘come and hear Kit de Waal talk about her latest novel’ but ‘come think they don’t need to be there, but give them
and hear someone talk about food poverty’, ‘come and hear those opportunities so that they can learn’.
someone else talk about why we love liars’. So we didn’t mention Arit Eminue, Founder and Director, DiVA
the names of authors, which is excluding to many, many people. Apprenticeships, Roundtable 4
I think the industry has a responsibility to readers that they don’t
acknowledge, and the people that don’t read and the people that
are excluded from reading’.12 MENTORING AND SPONSORING
Much of the work of giving voice to the marginalised within the
creative and cultural industries is precarious. There are a number • Mentoring needs to involve the most senior staff as well as
of small-scale, grassroots organisations, campaigning groups and those directly responsible for opportunities and promotion.
even individuals who are working to address issues of inequality • Mentoring can only succeed as part of a broader strategy
in the creative sector, including Parents in Performing Arts (PiPA), to change the cultural and creative sector.
Raising Films, Stage Sight, Frozen Light and Inc Arts. Many of these
organisations have produced their own research on inequalities A common practice that has been adopted to challenge access
within the creative workforce (Dent, 2020) and submitted evidence into creative professions is mentoring (see Women in Film and TV,
to the APPG’s public call. These sorts of smaller and grassroots Arts Emergency, The Museum’s Association, Rising Arts Agency,
interventions were some of the first to mobilise to make clear that Visual Arts Group Wales, PublisHer, Creative Access and Penguin
the COVID-19 pandemic was having an unequal impact on the Random House, Beyond Dance, Birmingham Dance Network,
creative workforce. Many of these organizations and groups are Federation of Scottish Theatre, The Society of British Theatre
underfunded or operating on a voluntary basis, and are therefore Designers, Limit Break Mentorship, Jerwood Arts, and many more).
vulnerable and lack sustainable support. A risk with mentoring schemes is that they often apply a deficit
Thus, structures and organisations set up to give voice model that suggests the applicant needs help to improve their
to marginalised groups, in situations of real emergency within the skills and employability. If successful, the individual is matched
creative sector, are precariously funded and dependent on extra with someone more experienced - often also a member
work and goodwill. For a better understanding and awareness of a marginalised group themselves who is giving their time
of the issues raised by high-profile voices such as Kit de Waal and and expertise for free – who will aim to pass on their wisdom
Sir Lenny Henry, grassroots and campaigning groups need to be and advice through a series of meetings and/or assessment
made part of a sustainable infrastructure for the creative sector. of the applicant’s work.

80 CREATIVE MAJORITY ALLYSHIP 81

Mentoring has been shown to be particularly effective in ‘There are still so many barriers for entry level
helping the careers of men and women from racially minoritised talent. Those network barriers – who you know,
backgrounds (Conboy and Kelly, 2016; Jacobson and Lomotey, the financial barriers, and the industry is still very
1995), although the men benefit more than the women. Women much London-centric. The bar is very high from
from a minority group share some of the same challenges as white
what I see. At the Financial Times you almost
women in terms of lack of homophily with those in senior roles
have to be Barack Obama to write a piece, and
and socialised expectations of caregiving (Ibarra, 1993).
The seniority of the mentor has been shown in medicine and
there’s no room for failure. I hear from talent that
STEM subjects to be a key factor in success (Kang and Kaplan, they don’t need fixing any more. They don’t need
2019). It is important that the mentor has decision-making power another scheme to fix them. It’s actually middle
and even more helpful if they are the mentee’s direct supervisor. managers that need fixing’.
Mentorship programmes that do not include the mentee’s direct Priscilla Baffour, Head of Diversity and Inclusion
supervisor can communicate that the problem is being dealt at TikTok Europe and Former Global Head
with elsewhere, rather than ensuring this is a direct way for
of Diversity and Inclusion at Financial Times,
an individual to progress their career (Kang and Kaplan, 2019).
Roundtable 1
Research from work and organisations has shown that women
are slightly more likely than men to have mentors, but that their
mentors are less senior and have less power within the employing
organisation (Ibarra et al, 2010; Ibarra, 1993). As a consequence
of this, men’s mentors take more of an active role beyond advising
into helping them get jobs, something that is often described
as sponsorship, rather than mentorship (Ibarra et al, 2010; Bohnet,
2016; Friedman and Laurison, 2020).
Sponsorship is different from mentorship in that the
individual becomes personally invested in the career of those
they are helping, going beyond introducing them to contacts
to embedding them in their networks and beyond advocating
for them to actively helping them advance (Friedman and
Laurison, 2020). In education research, sponsors have been
shown to improve career opportunities for women from
a racially minoritised background because they provide
access to professional networks and organizations and
share strategic information about how to advance as well
as modelling accepted behaviour (Allen et al, 1995).

82 CREATIVE MAJORITY ALLYSHIP 83

Tools for more equitable mentoring: Policy recommendations for Allyship

• Effective practice is to use sponsorship For government:

not mentoring.
• DCMS should have a plan for creative diversity, published
• Appoint sponsors rather than leaving to the
and reviewed annually, with associated key performance
individual to identify and approach.
indicators (KPIs).
• Pair sponsees with those who can help their
careers, not train them. This is especially important for DCMS. Currently its
• Individuals should have clear goals and diversity commitment in its Single Departmental Plan is only
communicate them to their sponsor a commitment to ‘promoting diversity across its sectors’, rather
• Train sponsors on the complexities of gender than a detailed plan for delivering a more diverse creative
and leadership (Ibarra et al, 2010), e.g. the sector. DCMS can be an important ally and leader by setting
a firm and clear commitment to a more diverse creative sector.
‘double bind’ (Eagly and Carli, 2007) that while
people believe leaders should be assertive and
For organisations and businesses:
confidently display their assertiveness, women
are often met with disapproval if they display • All organisations should have a plan for creative diversity,
such traits. published and reviewed annually.
• Partner women with other women at the same
level, which has been shown to help women in Effective EDI needs an approach that includes all levels: senior
a learning situation by giving informal feedback management support; commitment from hirers, managers and
strategic planners; cultural competence across all employees;
to each other (Bohnet, 2016).
and a voice for the marginalised. It is impossible to bring these
• Make sponsors accountable for the success
differing elements together without a clear plan or policy
of the person being sponsored. on creative diversity.
• Discourage informal sponsoring,
e.g. old boys’ clubs. • Adopt mentoring and sponsorship programmes.
• Use mentoring as a tool for recruitment.
Our review of the literature suggested mentoring and
sponsorship can be highly effective in driving a more
diverse workforce. However, there are several issues and
pitfalls. As a result, organisations should ensure sponsorship
is only done through official channels, with monitoring and
accountability built in to promote effectiveness and equality
of opportunity.

84 CREATIVE MAJORITY ALLYSHIP 85

• Create and fund employee resource groups, and freelancer
networks, as a forum for marginalised groups. Listen to them
and their recommendations.

Workers, whether present or future employees or freelancers,

are a crucial source of experiences and understandings
of barriers and discrimination. Yet our review of the literature,
along with the roundtables, suggests lived experiences
of discrimination are still marginalised in many creative and
cultural sectors. Better understanding of how to dismantle
barriers and stop discrimination needs organisations and
businesses to resource ways of listening to experiences.

• Develop education and information campaigns around

issues associated with discrimination in the cultural
industries.

Experiences of barriers and discrimination need to be heard,

but they also need to be understood. There is still a great
deal of misunderstanding and misperception of issues
associated with creative diversity. In this context, organisations
and businesses should properly resource education and
awareness campaigns.

6
Roundtable 2, see Appendix 2
7
​ ww.incartsunlock.co.uk/
w
8
​Roundtable 10, See Appendix 2
9
Roundtable 3, See Appendix 2
10
Roundtable 9, see Appendix 2
11
Roundtable 10, see Appendix 2
12
Roundtable 10, see Appendix 2

86 CREATIVE MAJORITY ALLYSHIP 87

ACCESSIBILITY • VALUE DIFFERENCE AS ESSENTIAL FOR
CREATIVITY AND THE DEVELOPMENT
OF YOUR BUSINESS

ACCESSIBILITY • ENSURE ACCESS TO THE CREATIVE SECTOR

IS POSSIBLE FOR EVERYONE

ACCESSIBILITY • BE PROACTIVE IN ENSURING YOUR WORKPLACE

IS ADAPTABLE TO THOSE WITH PHYSICAL
DISABILITIES AND THOSE WITH INVISIBLE

ACCESSIBILITY
DISABILITIES

• SCRUTINISE YOUR JOB ADVERTS AND

ACCESSIBILITY
RECRUITMENT PROCESS TO DISCOVER
WHETHER THEY COULD BE OFF-PUTTING
TO CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHICS

ACCESSIBILITY • CONSIDER REMOVING YOUR NAME AND LOGO

• MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

ACCESSIBILITY
TO WORK WITHOUT FEELING DISADVANTAGED

• KNOW YOUR LEGAL OBLIGATIONS

ACCESSIBILITY
AS EMPLOYERS TO ALL WHO OPERATE
WITHIN THE WORKPLACE

• DO NOT USE UNPAID INTERNS

ACCESSIBILITY • DIVERSIFY THE POOL OF CANDIDATES YOU

DRAW FROM FOR VOLUNTEER WORK
OR APPRENTICESHIPS.

89
We have excellent teachers of Black and Asian facing particularly large and persistent employment penalties and
descent teaching our students so from the discrimination are: mothers, people with disabilities, and Pakistani
and Bangladeshi women.
moment you enter our school as a participant
Accessibility to work in the arts and creative sectors includes
or family member you see that the person ensuring there is no ‘ideal’ worker that everyone must be like
in a position of authority in that class is reflective or live up to (O’Brien and Friedman, 2017; Brook et al, 2020).
of you. That sends an immediate signal that it’s Currently, anyone who is not an able-bodied, neurotypical man
with no caring responsibilities can feel that they do not fit the
a safe space for all ethnicities…. what we also
ideal mould, and that asking to work in a different way is difficult.
do is have students join our annual school show Those from a lower socioeconomic background may find
which our professional company take part that they cannot access unpaid work experience or the right
in, which means that the family networks schools and universities that allow them into lucrative cultural
networks (Randle et al, 2015; Brook et al, 2020). People who are
of each of those kids come into a theatre space,
racially minoritised in Britain can find that even when they are
a professional theatre like the Royal Opera able to participate in creative work, they are consigned to special
House, Sadler’s Wells ord Theatre Royal Stratford interest pathways and cannot access mainstream budgets and
East and they see their kids in a performance distribution (Malik et al, 2017; Saha, 2017; Grugulis and
Stoyanova, 2012).
with professional dancers who also look like
Women are similarly expected to work in feminised subject
them. What this does is open up the theatre areas such as children’s television (Follows et al, 2016; Johnson
environment and demystifies theatre for those and Peirse, 2021), parenting (Gill 2007) and smaller human interest
that maybe don’t even consider it as a pastime stories (Wreyford, 2018). Indeed those who succeed often do so
by conforming to these expectations (Wreyford, 2018), even when
for them. It also shows representation and
it limits their prospects, through producing work that is ethnically
a clear pathway into the profession for people absolutist and recognised by funders (Saha, 2017) or in niche
who look like them. areas where a sustainable career is difficult.
Cassa Pancho, Founder and CEO,
Ballet Black, Roundtable 8
‘You can’t create sustainable equality for
underrepresented groups by just putting people
The Equality and Human Rights Commission defines an equal
on stage and on film, it’s about who is working
society as one that recognises people’s different needs, situation
in key creative roles. Only 11 percent of comedy
and goals and removes barriers that limit what people can do and
see (The Equalities Review, 2007). The Equalities Review found
on television is written by women (WGGB)13.
that most kinds of inequality amplify other types of inequality, We wanted to create a writer’s room that was
but it identifies some that are more serious because they set similar to those that seem to be very accessible
off a ‘cascade’ of disadvantage. The social groups identified as to a certain young, white, Oxbridge-educated

90 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 91

man, who seems to walk into those opportunities CASE STUDY
very easily. We had one Black writer, one south-
east Asian writer, four writers with caring RUTH PATTERSON, MUSICIAN AND AMBASSADOR,
responsibilities and one writer from the North ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING, ROUNDTABLE 6
of England. We have produced a treatment,
Ruth is a disabled artist based in the north-east of England.
but most importantly the feedback we got
She is the lead singer and songwriter of a six piece folk rock band,
from the writers is that it was transformative. Holy Moly & The Crackers, and is also a solo performer. Music has
The young Black writer has now got an agent been her sole income for the past five years. At the age of 15 she
and a commission. The others felt that they was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, an autoimmune
had gained validation, confidence and disorder with associated chronic fatigue and Ehlers-Danlos
credentials and felt able to take up new syndrome which is a connective tissue disorder which causes
opportunities. We had 245 submissions and all of her joints to dislocate. She has been a wheelchair user since
2015. She has continued touring extensively, played over 120
the writers we chose were all people that had
shows per year, and is an Ambassador for Attitude is Everything,
a different perspective and different stories.
which works to improve Deaf and disabled people’s access
One key difference was that we offered them to live music.
payment, because money dignifies what is She has had significant success as an artist, appearing
otherwise regarded as frivolous, in the words on radio, TV and film, and has played large stages at Glastonbury,
of Virginia Woolf. The writers were able to take Boomtown and in the Czech Republic. As a disabled artist, Ruth
unpaid leave or holiday and focus on their work’. says there are still many barriers, and there is a basic lack of
www.era5050.co.uk Polly Kemp, Founder, Equal awareness of access issues, awkwardness and ignorance that can
become highly destructive and dangerous if left unchallenged.
Representation for Actresses, Roundtable 4
Ruth has had to cancel gigs at the last minute due to venues being
inaccessible. She is often left stranded backstage away from her
Disabled workers are more likely to be employed on programmes bandmates because even accessible venues for audiences don’t
and films about disability but find it hard to stay in work or cater for disabled artists. Green rooms that aren’t behind the
progress their career into other areas (Randle and Hardy, 2017). stage can be dangerous for Ruth if she must wheel through the
Disabled workers are also more likely to make multiple labour force crowd to get to the stage, as any slight knock to her can cause
exits and re-entries and therefore are vulnerable to permanent a dislocation.
exclusion from work (Shey and Jovic, 2013). On top of this, A recent survey conducted by Attitude is Everything (2019),
disabled people are significantly more likely to experience unfair as part of their Next Stage initiative, showed that disabled artists
treatment at work (Department for Work and Pensions, 2014). are very unlikely to disclose access requirements for fear of
being discriminated against. Ruth was once deemed a fire hazard
by a national group of venues because their access was so bad
that she wouldn’t be able to leave their venue unaided. Instead

92 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 93

of apologising or trying to find ways to solve this, the venue Disability, as defined by the Equality Act 2010 covers many
cancelled the booking. As well as finding it humiliating, Ruth felt people who may not usually have considered themselves
responsible for the band losing work. disabled. It covers physical or mental impairments with long-term,
The music industry, Ruth argues, needs to expect more substantial effects on ability to perform day-to-day activities
disabled artists, and shift the focus away from individuals having (Rethink, 2010). In order to create an inclusive workplace, it
to disclose their access requirements. The onus should be on the is not only important that the employer ensures their work
owners, venues and industry staff – and that includes radio as well place is accessible to everyone - it is also a legal responsibility
– to ask those questions in advance as standard. The expectation in many cases. The Equality Act states that an employer must
should be that there is likely to be a member of the team that has take reasonable steps to ensure that a disabled person is not
a disability or access requirements, and it should be as simple ‘substantially disadvantaged’ in any way in the workplace. These
as handing in dietary requirements on a rider. adjustments can include changing policies and procedures;
changing a physical feature of the workplace; or providing aids
such as extra support or equipment (Rethink, 2010). It could also
mean allowing workers time off for treatments, allowing flexible
working, changing someone’s duties or offering counselling or
mentoring (Rethink, 2010).
Other examples, beyond the continuing need for workplaces
to be made accessible as Ruth Patterson explained to our
evidence roundtable, include making it standard practice
to accommodate neurodiverse needs. Appropriate technology
for those who work flexibly or remotely, or have special needs
can also play a key role in making work inclusive for disabled
creative workers (Williamson et al, 2018).

‘The most recent equalities’ analysis of the

Arts Council portfolio of regularly funded
organisations revealed that only 5 percent
of Chairs declare a disability, only 6 percent
of the workforce do, 7 percent of trustees and
12 percent of audiences. Set against a 21 per cent
population segment, disabled people clearly
remain the most underrepresented group
of all the protected characteristics’.
Andrew Miller, Cultural Consultant and Former UK
Government Disability Champion, Roundtable 5

94 CREATIVE
CREATIVE
DIVERSITY
MAJORITY
REPORT ACCESSIBILITY 95
People self-select into jobs based partially on perceptions about as individuals. So if you make the door easier
whether or not they belong. Job advertisements and recruitment for some people, you’re actually making the
practices can provide people with subtle clues about identity door easier for everyone. For us it has often
fit and whether they would ‘belong’ (Bohnet, 2016; Goldin 2014). been about taking away obstacles’.
Sara Whybrew, Director of Policy and Development at Creative
Tarek Iskander, Artistic Director and CEO
& Cultural Skills, suggested companies consider removing their
of Battersea Arts Centre, Roundtable 5
branding from job advertisements. The Royal Opera House did
this for their apprenticeship positions and it radically changed the
makeup of the candidates that applied when they just referred
to themselves as ‘a performing arts centre in central London’.14 PARENTS AND CARERS

‘You need to scrutinize your messages • Working practices in the creative sector need to become
for the signals they send to the world’ much more compatible with caring responsibilities. This is
still a major cause of gender inequality in many professions.
(Bohnet, 2016 p.151)
Working hours and working patterns in the creative sector can
‘We launched as a Relaxed Venue* last year,
be particularly challenging for those with other responsibilities
which was basically making all our performances such as caring for children or other adults (O’Brien and Liddy
relaxed. We’ve seen a dramatic change in our 2021). The expectation in so many creative jobs and professions
audiences in terms of diversity. And even though is for a worker who is always ready to work the long-hours of
the relaxed venue methodology was set up with production schedules, to meet a deadline or simply to indicate
a disabled access primarily in mind, what’s been suitability through devotion to the job at the expense of any other
interesting is by loosening up some of those rules commitments (O’Brien, 2019; Brook et al, 2020).
In such a culture, even discussing the challenges can
- you can’t go out of an auditorium, you sit in
be difficult (Berridge, 2019). The majority of literature available
silence constantly, everything operating against
on parents and carers tends to focus on heterosexual couples,
these really rigid principles - not only have we and there is less available on other forms of family set up,
seen a massive change in terms of disability including single parents, same-sex couples and multi-generational
representation in our audiences, but also ethnic families (Reinmann et al, 2019, see Dent, 2020, for an exception).
representation and socioeconomic. Young people In the UK, there are around 1.8 million single parents, and they
in particular, and elderly people also appreciate make up nearly a quarter of families with dependent children
having a welcome that is more open to them (ONS.gov.uk, 2019). Around 90 percent of single parents are
women (Gingerbread).
The majority of caring for children, and of adults with care
*Touretteshero’s Relaxed Venue method aims to identify and dismantle the needs, is still done by women (Schoen and Rost, 2020) and this is
barriers faced by disabled people. It strives to make the entire experience
of visiting an arts venue more welcoming, accessible and inclusive. See their one of the most enduring factors in creating gendered inequality
website for more information: www.touretteshero.com in the workplace. The global COVID-19 pandemic and

96 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 97

its associated restrictions on movement have brought some before and it worked really well. People were just:
of these issues into the spotlight, and evidence is emerging ‘No. We don’t do that’. The only part-time jobs
of a clear disproportionate gendered distribution of the went to women on staff. I felt really isolated and
impacts due to women undertaking the majority of childcare, my mental health took a nosedive. I had worked
homeschooling and domestic chores, even when they are
my arse off for years and I felt like nobody wanted
earning as much as their partners (Wreyford et al, 2021). Already
me back. I blamed myself but then the Creative
arguments are being made for the need to address this as part
of the recovery programmes (Summers, 2021; Vinnicombe et
Skillset report in 2012 showed that a huge
al, 2020; Wenham and Herten-Crabb, 2021), particularly since proportion of women left the industry at my age,
equal participation in the labour market has been shown across and I decided to set up Share My Telly Job. It was
several countries to play a factor in creating equality in senior a website where people could meet each other.
and leadership positions (ibid). The Female FTSE Board Report I went to see some big talent execs and they were
2020 argues that in the UK the legislative frameworks for broader very reluctant, but I got the website working and
societal gender equality is not forceful or comprehensive enough
wrote a blog talking about the struggle of being a
and that, in the light of the pandemic, voluntary goals for gender
mother working in TV. At the time it was not really
equality may not be sufficient.
Although there are steps that can be taken to redress some
a term that was used in TV. Now we have a whole
of this burden, ultimately women will continue to face inequality community of job-sharers. It’s a way for women
without significant allyship from fathers and people without caring to stay in their career. And it works. People know
responsibilities. Research into public sector organisations argues what it is, and people know how it works. I’ve
that men, and women without children, need to become allies for got so many emails from women saying it is the
caregivers, and managers need training and guidance to increase dream. It’s huge. The next step is Share the Next
their capability to manage a variety of ways of working (Williamson
Step to help job-sharing women progress their
et al, 2018). This requires a change in attitude and culture
career and get them into senior roles’.
to recognise the work that is done raising future generations
of workers and taxpayers as being of benefit to all, not just
Lou Patel, Share My Telly Job
an individual choice that must be managed within the household. www.sharemytellyjob.com

‘After I had kids, I knew I didn’t want to carry COVID-19 has created a moment where care work is more visible
on working full time. My husband is a doctor and than ever before, and it’s still-gendered nature is clear, with
women doing the majority of childcare and homeschooling even
not around much and it’s six weeks for him to
when working full time (Wreyford et al, 2021). Wage inequality and
book a day off and I don’t have any family nearby.
essentialised perceptions of gender roles (where women are seen
I must have spent 4 to 5 months trying to get as ‘naturally nurturing’) contribute heavily to gendered inequality
a part time job. I applied for 27 jobs and didn’t in the workplace even in Nordic countries where paid parental
even get a reply. I was talking to people I knew leave is designed in a much more equitable way (Brandth and
about doing a job share. I’d done it on Big Brother Kvande, 2015). Research on fathers here shows that they rarely

98 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 99

take part time work in order to care for their children and when of different ways of working by making it more acceptable.
they do they find it extremely stressful (Brandth and Kvande, However, it is recommended that part-time staff be monitored
2015), they do not take up flexible working in significant numbers to ensure they are not being provided with lesser quality work
(Burnett et al, 2011) and fear negative repercussions on their and are able to accumulate experiences necessary to advance
careers (Blair-Loy and Wharton, 2004). their career (Williamson et al, 2018).
These are all challenges that working mothers also face, Flexible work - where the employee works full time but has
and yet women are suffering the stress and negative some flexibility as to when they complete these hours - can
repercussions on their careers in a way that most men are not. be effective, although the literature is mixed in its assessment.
Freelance, project-based work, common in the creative and In 2008 Cranfield found flexible work had no detrimental effects,
cultural industries, is particularly difficult to navigate with children and some positive impacts on both the quality and quantity
and other caregiving responsibilities (Dent, 2019; Wreyford, 2018). of work produced by an individual (Kelliher and Anderson, 2008).
Recent changes to pension ages have also revealed the unpaid However, a study of women in managerial roles in 675
work that mostly women do in regards to elder care (Bennett, Australian organisations found positive effects for services such
2021) and women are most likely to fall into the category as childcare but no positive effects for flexible work schedules
of ‘sandwich carer’ i.e. those who are providing care for (Kalysh et al, 2016). A further study of 14 European countries found
an elderly relative alongside dependent children. negative effects for the use of flexitime for parents (Straub 2007).
A survey conducted by Raising Films in 2019 on the impact Women also report working more than the part time hours they
of those who identified as ‘carers’ as opposed to parents16 in the are contracted for (Chung and van der Horst, 2020).
UK screen sector uncovered interesting findings on the impact Flexible work solutions, like many of the other interventions
of care on men’s creative careers, particularly men in same-sex reviewed in this report, may be more effective if they happen
relationships caring either for a partner or parent. These findings, alongside wider social and sector change that challenges bias
which illustrated how men with caring responsibilities experienced against part-time and flexible workers. It is also important that
similar barriers including an absence of support, understanding this change recognises that carers, who are mostly women, cannot
and employment protection, suggest that care can be an issue be expected to fit into a mould that is designed for people without
for all genders and further research is needed in this area these responsibilities (Kelliher and Anderson, 2008). The burden
(Raising Films, 2019; Dent, 2020). should not be on those individuals to have to ask for special
The positive effects of flexible working and part time measures and they should be understood as equally committed
working are not completely clear cut. On the surface they to their jobs.
appear to offer a way to balance the demands of work and Innovations in flexible working are recommended.
family life, but in practice they can activate biases against those These include ‘flexible flexibility’ which is an arrangement
who take them up as being less committed to their job. This where an employee can move in and out of part-time work,
remains a problem that women face more than men, and it can to accommodate caring responsibilities or busy periods
lead to inequality of opportunity in the workplace (Kelliher and of intensive work (Williamson et al, 2018).
Anderson, 2008; Schoen and Rost, 2020). Another innovative way of job-sharing is that a staff member
Part-time and teleworking, available at every level and in particular at the next level can ‘act up’ to fill the remaining hours left
modelled by senior staff, has been shown to increase uptake

100 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 101

by a part time worker, receiving an opportunity to develop their childcare would actually make a huge
own career (Williamson et al, 2018). When Google introduced difference structurally’.
a maternity and paternity leave plan, increasing paid leave and
Holly Donagh, Director of Strategic Learning,
paying an additional cash sum, the company reversed the trend
Insight & Influence, Paul Hamlyn Foundation,
amongst young mothers to be twice as likely to leave employment
as other workers (Bohnet, 2016). Every job should be assumed
Roundtable 5
to be possible to undertake in a flexible manner with regards
to hours and place of work unless it can demonstrably be shown
to be otherwise. Defaults that favour EDI are a powerful tool
for change.
Introducing work/life balance policies can help in attracting
and retaining candidates, increasing morale and loyalty, and are
Tools for more equitable consideration
more desired than higher salaries (Schoen and Rost, 2020).
of those with caring responsibilities

‘When we worked with young people who • Pay for performance, not presenteeism.
didn’t have family support to get work in the • Allow teleworking (working from home)
creative industries, sometimes they would as standard.
go on a placement in an organisation, but they • Allow part time-work and job shares
wouldn’t really thrive. That was because the to as standard.
culture they were going into was so pervasively • Give part-time work and job shares
othering – it was no one thing. My learning from equal status to full time work.
that is that programmatic interventions by • Offer childcare subsidies.
themselves are not going to do the job. If they • Restricting meeting times to core
would have done the job we’d have seen a lot working hours.
more change over the past 20 years than we have. • Give sufficient notice for meetings
As a funder, I don’t want to look back in another outside core hours.
20 years time on a range of programmatic • Offer flexible working, ie being able
interventions that haven’t worked. So what to choose when to work, as standard
do we need to attend to? I think there are these (this is less desirable than teleworking
complex, systemic challenges that we need and part time working).
to understand. For me, tackling a culture of low • Offer paid parental leave, including
pay, tackling a culture of ‘paying your dues’, paternity leave.
things like universal high-quality free • Celebrate employers with good practice.

102 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 103

WORK EXPERIENCE AND INTERNSHIPS and work-based learning opportunities, as well as the legal
implications for those engaging with them. The Guide explains
• A problematic system of using unpaid interns still that it is not the title you give someone (such as ‘intern’
dominates the creative and cultural industries or ‘apprentice’) that defines their role legally, but the conditions
and needs to be reformed. within which they are expected to operate, and that many
creative organisations may be illegally using unpaid labour.
‘It’s a glamorous industry and people will do Increasingly, students are encouraged to undertake industry
anything to work in it. As a consequence, people placements as part of their studies, with ‘work-based learning’
a key part of UK Higher Education (HE) policy since the late 1990s
take interns for free and the only people who can
(Ashton, 2013). Those undertaking an industry placement as part
do that are white, middle-class people who live
of their studies or an accredited training programme do not need
in London. That in and of itself is limiting the to be paid (Creative & Cultural Skills, 2020).
type of people that you will get in the industry. However, the increase of mandatory work placements on HE
Right from the beginning at Metail we only did creative degree courses has not provided a meritocratic levelling
the London Living Wage for any intern we had. up of the sector. In fact, the evidence on the relationship between
That’s basically the only way you can drive social HE, work placements and creative industries indicates that they
mobility. That is a must for the industry. We were further exacerbate the inequalities already dominant within the
sector (Ball et al, 2010; Pollard and Stanley, 2010; Allen et al, 2013;
a start-up business. If we can do it, anybody can’.
O’Brien et al, 2016).
Tom Adeyoola, Co-Founder of Extend Ventures
The intention is for students to complement their theoretical
and Founder and ex-CEO of Metail, Roundtable 2 and practical studies with opportunities to pick up experience
and contacts, aimed at helping them secure employment at the
For many in the creative sector, working for free has become end of their degree (Oakley 2013). As a practice that is common
an acceptable way to try to secure paid employment or contracts in the creative sector, it is often informally arranged through
(Percival and Hesmondhalgh, 2014; Brook et al, 2020; Roberts, parents and their friends, widening inequality of access to these
2017). Writers, artists, actors, musicians and other key creatives professions (Allen et al, 2013; Shade and Jacobson, 2015). Those
routinely expect to provide examples of their skills in order who do not have connections to the industry, and those who
to ‘get their foot in the door’ for creative work (Ball et al, 2010). cannot afford to work for free, or indeed need to earn money, are
The creative industries are also well known for using the free not only disadvantaged, but also can be read as not committed
labour of entry level candidates as one of a range of assessment, enough by potential employers.
socialisation and filtering processes by which future workers are Individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are
identified (Allen et al, 2013). Creative employers have cemented this particularly disadvantaged by this requirement to work for free,
through ‘a suspicion of vocational qualifications and a preference even though access to work experience could be a useful source
for experiential learning in their recruits’’ (Oakley, 2013, p.26). of social and cultural capital for these students who are less
The Creative & Cultural Skills’s Best Practice Recruitment familiar with the institutional and societal practices expected
Guide for Creative Leaders (2020) provides a useful and detailed in many creative professions that are dominated by those from
outline of the differences between certain types of unpaid wealthier backgrounds. The ‘ideal’, ‘successful’ and ‘employable’

104 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 105

future creative worker has been shown to be implicitly classed, A fairer system would see work placements organised
raced and gendered and the practice of unpaid internships by educational institutions in partnership with industry, and
contributes towards the reproduction of these normative allocated to all students (Ball et al, 2010). However, this does
requirements (Allen et al, 2012). Sam Friedman of the London not address the inequality of access for students who need
School of Economics, who also sits on the Government’s to work part time to support themselves or those with caring
Social Mobility Commission, told the APPG that unadvertised responsibilities (Neyt et al, 2019), or the fact that the creative
and unpaid internships and work placements still contribute sector employs double the number of graduates in its workforce
to an attainment gap in those from lower socioeconomic than the national rate (Creative & Cultural Skills, 2018) and
backgrounds. He has looked at acting, at architecture, and access to higher education is much harder for people from
worked with Channel 4. Channel 4 have not only committed lower socioeconomic backgrounds (Boliver, 2013; 2017). Work
to a ban on these unadvertised and unpaid positions, but have placements alone will also not solve the inequalities in cultural
put this requirement into their contracts with independent and social resources that are key barriers to success.
production companies.16 Creative & Cultural Skills (2020, p.11) define best practice
when it comes to Internships, as ‘a paid, an entry level position
‘People around me at labels had the time, brain for someone of working age, who is seeking to develop their CV
space and the confidence in them because or change career’. They suggest the position should last for no
more than six months, and the individual is paid at least national
they came from families that allowed them
minimum wage. Recruitment of interns should be subject to the
to not have to work. I couldn’t do that. I had
same formal and fair practices that we will come on to discuss
to help my parents pay rent. I couldn’t do an in the next section.
internship for no money for a long time. I had
to hustle and do other stuff and DJ and I think ‘For both my undergraduate and master’s
the industry is robbed of a lot of talent and degrees I was either one or one of two Black
executives because they simply can’t afford people in a course of over 100 and throughout
to give the time. This isn’t just about ticking my career when I’ve been to other brands and
boxes; it’s about creativity’. spoken to other Black people, I’ve heard this
Alex Boateng, Co-President of 0207 experience from almost all of them. In large
Def Jam at Universal Music UK part what these fashion institutions do is
they ignore the structural and socioeconomic
Work placements are not just about exclusion of ethnic minorities to even get into
learning about the world of work, but these institutions in the first place - to get the
a ‘filtering site’ in which students are education required that these brands want.
evaluated through classifying practices That’s limiting the talent pool before Black
that privilege middle-class ways of being. students even get a chance to get their foot
(Allen et al, 2013) in the front door. When I look at my own course,

106 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 107

almost all of the students were able to do it CASE STUDY
through some kind of family loan and of course
when you look at statistics on ethnic minorities INDEPENDENT CINEMA OFFICE
a lot of people don’t have access to those kinds
The Independent Cinema Office (ICO) was founded on the
of resources. For many Black people like me
belief that everyone should have access to cultural cinema,
who do manage to get onto these courses you
with the core aim of increasing engagement with people
have the additional burden of having to work historically underserved by, and underrepresented in, the sector.
alongside your education and the additional By improving the diversity of the sector workforce the ICO aims
burden of being the only one. You have to explain to transform the sector and better enable what is shown on
your existence, you have to explain to your own screen to reflect everyone’s experience. Since 2003 the ICO has
lecturers the nuance of Black experience and run 163 training and professional development courses attended
that can lead to stress and burnout’. by participants from more than 1100 organisations across 67
countries. Creative Europe and the BFI support the ICO to deliver
Shakaila Forbes-Bell, Founder,
international training, and previous funders include Arts Council
Fashion Is Psychology, Roundtable 2
England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Esmée
Fairbairn Foundation.
Since 2015 the ICO’s transformative Film Exhibition
Distribution & Sales (FEDS) programme has recruited 30 trainees
from groups currently underrepresented in the UK film industry.
Of the trainees, 80 per cent have been women, 13 per cent
identified as having a disability and 87 per cent of the trainees
came from a range of racially minoritised backgrounds.
Participants undertake a 10-month paid work experience
placement at a leading UK film exhibitor, including Queen’s Film
Theatre (Belfast), Chapter Arts Centre (Cardiff), Glasgow Film
Theatre, Barbican Centre (London), Showroom (Sheffield) and
Broadway (Nottingham). In addition to on-the-job training, the
trainees receive professional career coaching, bespoke mentoring,
guidance from the ICO team and regular training sessions with
experienced industry professionals. They also develop a network
of peers to support their career journey. Previously funded by
ScreenSkills, the latest iteration of FEDS is supported by the BFI’s
Audience Fund.

108 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 109

Trainees are paid Living Wage for the duration of the placement, LEAKY PIPELINES AND BIASED RECRUITMENT
allowing for a wide range of people to be able to take up the
opportunity. The ICO vets organisations interested in having • Arguments about a lack of suitable candidates need to be
a trainee to ensure they have the right ethos and commitment replaced by an understanding that recruitment processes
to equality. Demand to take part in the FEDS scheme is high but are more likely to be biased and steps taken to address this.
the ICO is able to take on this large-scale recruitment process
on behalf of small businesses and therefore reduce the reliance ‘We can’t really be effective until we tackle the
on personal networks for job and training opportunities. Post- question of what “good” really looks like. I can sit
programme, 86 percent of alumni remain in the industry.
here and come up with different metrics about
how diversity of thought and diversity of inclusion
‘The FEDS scheme is effective due to the fact in our recruitment practices are really at the
that it’s paid. When you do the FEDS traineeship, heart of it, but if those people who are making
you’re able to work, learn and innovate free from decisions aren’t really thinking about what good
the pressures associated with other internships looks like, no initiative, no scheme, no target that
or traineeships’. we’ve all been imbedded in supporting over the
Rico Johnson-Sinclair, FEDS trainee 2017 past 10, 15, 30 years, is going to make a difference.
We need to break the illusion that “good” only
comes in a certain package, from a certain
background, with a certain title and a certain
destination’.
Miranda Wayland, Head of Creative Diversity,
BBC, Roundtable 1

Arguments that achieving a diverse workplace is difficult because

of the lack of suitably qualified candidates have been common
across many different industries. However evidence from the field
of management studies shows that the problem actually lies with
the narrow definition of a suitable candidate by those doing the
hiring (Rivera 2012).

110 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT ACCESSIBILITY 111

Very often the attributes that are valued are ones that exclude the (Boliver, 2013; 2017; Montacute and Cullinane, 2018), meaning that
majority of people, for example having a degree from a specific this practice favours those from more privileged backgrounds.
university, being free from any other responsibilities such as caring In the creative sector, evidence exists to suggest that
for others, or having a personal recommendation from someone producers are less flexible in their ability to consider non-
already working in the industry (Wreyford, 2018). Indeed, these traditional audiences, even when there is financial gain to be
are not skills-based characteristics, but rather positional goods made. This impacts their hiring and commissioning decisions.
associated with wealth or social networks. Film, for example, remains entrenched in its focus on the young,
Amanda Parker of Inc Arts UK wants to see much more white man as the viewer despite evidence that older women make
transparency to jobs, roles and pay structures to break the often up the largest section of the cinema-going audience (Sinclair et
obscure process of knowing who to go to for a job, and how much al, 2006; Erigha, 2020). In publishing it is the middle-class white
to ask for. She gave examples of where this works: Directors UK woman who is still considered to be the most reliable reader and
have industry rates that directors share so that they are asking purchaser of books (Saha and van Lente, 2020), making it hard for
for a similar rate for a similar job, and there are informal networks organisations to challenge this assumption.18 Music, while making
of Black actors, particularly women, who share the rates and some inroads to address the audience for Black musicians19, has
conditions they are being offered at audition stage.17 yet to really address gender inequalities, particularly in behind-
An experiment by the University of Chicago found that the-scenes roles such as producer and engineer (Bain, 2019).
identical, fictitious resumes got different responses depending Where marginalised groups do gain some ground, they often
on the name at the top. Names that sounded white were asked find themselves being defined and constrained by their identity
to interview 50 per cent more often than names that sounded in a way that dominant groups do not. Women and those from
Black, and indeed Lakisha Washington and Jamal Jones needed a racially minoritised background can find themselves ghettoized
eight more years of relevant work experience than Emily Walsh and exoticised (Saha, 2011; Grugulis and Stoyanova, 2012; Johnson
and Greg Baker did (Bertrand and Mullainathan, 2004). Heath and and Peirse, 2021), considered to be speaking only to their own
Di Stasio (2019) found similar patterns across field experiments communities and restricted in how they can express themselves.
in the British labour market. Women, for example, are employed on smaller, less
Although evidence indicates that the requirement is usually commercial films about relationships and not seen as a natural fit
on marginalised groups to ‘fit in’ (Brown and Kelan, 2020), for bigger budget films with action and special effects (Silverstein,
it is clear that a more effective and fairer approach is for those 2014; Wreyford, 2018). Hardcore punk band Huge Baby, a group
in dominant groups to recognise the ways that they are excluding of British-Asian brothers, could not get signed by a record label
(Heffes, 2009). There is a delicate balance to be struck, however, because their music did not fit with executives’ ideas of what
between valuing difference and reproducing essentialised Asian musicians could do or what audiences want (Saha, 2011).
assumptions about race, gender or other personal characteristics Stuart Hall (1996) called this ‘segregated visibility’. If already
(Apfelbaum et al, 2016). marginalised cultural workers are forced to rely on stereotypical
Research shows that there is still widespread belief that attitudes towards their capabilities in order to obtain any kind
university prestige is an essential sign of merit, regardless of of financial rewards for their labour, breaking away from
qualifications or experience (Riviera, 2011; Wreyford, 2018). Those essentialist perceptions is a risky strategy.
who attend fee-paying or other selective schools are much more
likely to go to university than pupils from comprehensive schools

112 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 113

Addressing these issues requires the sort of cultural and CASE STUDY
structural changes that this report has repeatedly referenced.
In addition, recruitment should be carried out by those with OPEN DOOR PEOPLE
human resource training, rather than only those who will
potentially work closely with the candidate if hired (Riviera, 2012). Open Door People (or Open Door as it’s widely known)
Businesses and insitutions should work with smaller, grassroots is an award-winning charity that helps talented young people
and speciailist organisations who can facilitate introductions from low income backgrounds gain a place at one of the UK’s
having done some of the ground with marginalised groups leading drama schools. Their Acting and Behind the Scenes
(Moshiri et al, 2019; Saha and van Lente, 2020). It is vital that this Access Programmes currently engage people aged 17-26
relationship should be reciprocal so that larger organisations fund (Acting Programme) and 17-26 (Behind the Scenes Programme)
the activities of smaller independents,20 rather than exploiting the who come from a household with an annual income that is
work and investment of smaller, grassroots, organisations. £30,000 or under and are based in London, Essex, Sheffield,
Rotherham or the East Midlands.
Open Door works to break down financial and socio-
economic barriers for those who want to go to drama school.
Auditions for places on B.A. acting courses and for some
production arts and technical theatre schools range from £25
to £60. Candidates applying for schools that require UCAS and
UCAS Conservatoire sign-up pay additional fees of £20 and
£26 respectively. Applying to multiple schools to increase their
chances of getting a place, plus travel costs, with some drama
schools having multiple audition rounds, and candidates having
to stay in London, can escalate costs to around £2,000.
Open Door was named School of the Year at The Stage
Awards 2019 and as one of the Big Issue’s Top 100 Changemakers
2019. Open Door’s founder David Mumeni has been named
in The Stage’s 100, a list of influential people in British theatre,
for the past three years.
Out of 126 participants, 72 are now studying on B.A (Hons)
courses at world-leading accredited drama schools. Over three
completed years, 126 participants achieved 823 recalls, 311 final
rounds and 145 offers at the UK’s leading drama schools.
Open Door participants make up a significant percentage
of the students who come from racially minoritised backgrounds
currently on B.A acting courses. 48.3 per cent at Guildhall, 58.76
per cent at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, 11.7 per

114 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 115

cent at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and 28.57 Policy recommendations for Accessibility
percent at LAMDA.
71 per cent of participants from the first Access Programme ACCESSIBILITY
have already secured agent representation from some of the
biggest talent agencies in the UK, including Curtis Brown and For government:
The Artists Partnership. 36 per cent have already secured
professional work before graduating. • DCMS should collate, co-ordinate and disseminate the
Open Door participants and former participants are range of sector guidance and toolkits on supporting access
already starting to make their mark on the industry. Sheyi Cole to jobs within the creative economy, for example the Social
was named one of Screen’s Stars of Tomorrow 2020 for his role Mobility Commission’s toolkit for the creative industries
in Steve McQueen’s critically acclaimed Small Axe (BBC). Tobi King and recent guidance by BFI, ACE, and Jerwood Arts.
Bakare (BBC’s I May Destroy You Netflix’s Cursed and Sky’s Templ)
was nominated for Edinburgh TV Awards 2020’s Breakthrough Our roundtables and our scoping work on the policy
Talent award. Milly Zero was nominated as Best Newcomer in the landscape for creative diversity suggested the existence
Soap Awards 2020 for her role as Dotty Cotton in EastEnders of a whole range of guidance and toolkits across the creative
(BBC). Both Asha Hassan and Raphel Famotibe appeared in the industries. Whilst this is welcome, it means that organisations
BAFTA nominated Rocks. Brandon Grace has recently secured and individuals looking for support can find it hard to navigate
a lead role in a major Netflix series. the range of approaches. A key role for government, and for
DCMS as the ministry for the creative economy, is to offer
guidance on these resources, both signposting to them and
synthesising key insights and suggested practices.

For organisations and businesses:

• Offer flexible work, job sharing, working from home and

part-time work as default for all positions, or give clear
reasons why not.

The pandemic has transformed working life for large parts

of society. It has shown how previous barriers to a more
diverse workforce, for example for disabled people or parents
and carers, can be overcome quickly when the situation
demands change. Having seen what is possible, businesses
and organisations need to think carefully about working
practices and clearly justify roles for which the default
is not a flexible and tailored approach to each role and
each individual.

116 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT ACCESSIBILITY 117

• Competence-based approaches to jobs and commissions • Do not use unpaid interns. Ensure your contractors do not
must become the norm across the sector replacing informal use unpaid interns. Diversify the pool of candidates you
recruitment practices. draw from for volunteer work or apprenticeships.

The examples we heard at the roundtable sessions, along The academic literature is clear that unpaid internships are
with reviews of the ‘What Works’ evidence on hiring, a significant barrier to entry and to advancement in creative
suggests practices including formal recruitment; removing careers. As we heard at our roundtables, we have long passed
organisational branding; performance or work-based the point where businesses and organisations can claim
assessment of candidates; and clear criteria for hiring ignorance about the legal requirements for internships and
decisions are all crucial. Informal networks, hidden decision- the impact on excluding many from workplace opportunities.
making processes and ‘gut reactions’ still dominate parts The effective practice case studies from our roundtable
of the creative economy, and underpin barriers sessions all stressed the need to pay interns and be clear
and discrimination. about limiting volunteering opportunities so they are
not simply unpaid internships by another name. Larger,
• Be proactive in ensuring your workplace is adaptable commissioning organisations must assume responsibility
to those with physical disabilities and those with for compliance with this practice with any companies
invisible disabilities. or individuals that they contract.

• Scrutinise your job adverts and recruitment process

to discover whether they could be off-putting to certain
demographics. Consider removing your name and logo.

• Know your legal obligations as employers to all who

operate within the workplace.

These three recommendations reflect the discussions

of current practices from the roundtables. We heard several
witnesses describe how organisations could be seen as
closed and even hostile as a result of not taking seriously legal
obligations to be accessible and the more subtle signals that 13
Kreager and Follows (2018)
result from organisational branding and recruitment practices. 14
Roundtable 1, see Appendix 2
Changing these elements of an organisation can go hand-in-
15
According to Carers UK a carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for
a family member or a friend who, due to illness, disability, a mental
hand, thinking about what legal requirements may be and then health problem or an addiction, cannot cope without their support.
using these as a starting point for how an organisation thinks 16
Roundtable 7, see Appendix 2
and talks about itself, and how it recruits.
17
Roundtable 5, see Appendix 2
18
Roundtable 10, see Appendix 2
19
Roundtable 6, see Appendix 2
20
Roundtable 10, see Appendix 2

118 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCESSIBILITY 119

ADAPTABILITY • BECOME CONSCIOUS OF THE
SERIES OF CHOICES MADE WHEN AN

ADAPTABILITY
INDIVIDUAL IS EMPLOYED, RECRUITED,
COMMISSIONED, OR FUNDED

ADAPTABILITY
• DON’T ASSUME THAT YOUR
RECRUITMENT, ASSESSMENT OR
PROMOTION PROCESSES ARE

ADAPTABILITY MERITOCRATIC AND INSTEAD WORK

TO ELIMINATE BIAS AND SUBJECTIVE

ADAPTABILITY
JUDGEMENTS OF TASTE

• REDUCE SUBJECTIVITY AND BIAS

ADAPTABILITY
BY FORMALISING RECRUITMENT
PROCESSES

ADAPTABILITY • APPLY THE SAME RIGOROUS SCRUTINY

TO WORKING PRACTICES AND

ADAPTABILITY
PROMOTION PROCEDURES AS TO
RECRUITMENT.

121
‘If you’re very busy, which a lot of smaller This section deals with the practical application of adapting
organisations are, and you’re working on projects current recruitment and working practices in order to be more
inclusive and take effective steps to increase the diversity
that are time critical, your curators or your head
of a workforce. Much of what will be discussed in this section
of programmes might say, “But I need someone draws from the behavioural economics literature.
to come in quickly and I need someone to This literature understands humans as making both good
support me that has a lot of experience that’s and bad choices (Cartwright, 2018), and behavioural design seeks
to help individuals and organisations better realise their goals
very strictly relevant to what we have now.”
through an understanding of these choices that go beyond law,
I think that’s a much bigger, systemic piece regulation or incentives (Bohnet, 2016, p4) to ‘nudge’ (Sunstein,
of work for the whole sector. We need to stop 2015) certain behaviours in a more thoughtful, equitable and
working in this way, because if we carry on effective way. Iris Bohnet (2016, p5) argues that ‘there is no
design-free world’.
working like this we keep excluding people.
How an individual is employed, recruited, commissioned,
Most funding that you apply for is based or funded is informed by a series of choices, for example,
on “projects” rather than on organisations. to advertise or use networks to identify suitable candidates; who
And if we’re always working on “projects” and conducts the interview and where it takes place; or what criteria
are used to make the final selection. In the context of improving
“outputs” it’s very difficult to be able to offer
EDI, behavioural design can be used to make informed changes
people contracts that are sustainable and are to existing processes and challenge assumptions and habits.
permanent. And the way that you change the Without a proper understanding of why humans behave
sector and the way that you create progression in certain ways it is easy for even the most well-intentioned EDI
intervention to fail. For example, as already discussed above, there
routes and enable people to stay within
is very little evidence to show that unconscious bias training
organisations is to fund organisations and works, and in fact there are several comprehensive reviews that
to fund roles within organisations rather than indicate it might have the opposite effect of increasing individual
just projects’. bias. While it has no doubt been effective in raising awareness that
Sorrel Hershberg, Executive Director, everyone develops forms of bias that they might not necessarily
be aware of, in isolation, as a training exercise to address these
Create London, Roundtable 5
biases in the workplace, it may be be counter-productive
(Bohnet 2016)

122 CREATIVE MAJORITY ADAPTABILITY 123

DIVERSE HIRING AND COMMISSIONING CASE STUDY
• Understand how to avoid hiring someone CREATIVE & CULTURAL SKILLS
because they are like you.
Labour market intelligence indicates a mismatch between
Believing that your recruitment, assessment or promotion the jobs available in the sector and the expectations of young
processes are meritocratic has been shown to increase bias, likely graduates entering the job market. Most of the job shortages
in a similar way to the moral licensing effect of diversity training. are in technical and support roles where there is little evidence
When individuals think merit is taken for granted they are more of appropriate recruitment. Employers have a large number
likely to believe that they can act on their own biased intuitions of highly qualified applicants for non-graduate jobs and often
(Castilla and Benard, 2010). Biased judgements are costly and do not stop to consider what skills and talent they actually
limiting, both for the individual and the employer. Understanding need in their workforce.
how your hiring practices work and making changes to be more CCS recognised that the sector had failed to engage with
inclusive is key to EDI success (Heffes, 2009). further education colleges and with technical and vocational
In creative professions, there are many situations where qualifications, effectively screening out a large number of talented
only one candidate is considered for a position. An artist, young people from less advantaged backgrounds. In 2010, CCS
performer or technician might be approached because placed 120 young people into apprenticeships in the creative
of a recommendation, their past work or through someone industries through the then Government’s Future Jobs Fund.
they already know (Wreyford, 2015; Scharff, 2017; Duberley In 2011, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) introduced
et al, 2017). This can increase the reliance on stereotypes, the Work Programme and Arts Council England was keen
and can lead to the appointment of someone who fits to engage with this initiative through the creation of the Creative
a stereotype, rather than because of merit. When evaluators Employment Programme (CEP). Many creative businesses have
consider more than one candidate, and therefore have little experience of working with the DWP, Jobcentres and big
to make comparative evaluations, there is increased attention providers of target-driven employment schemes.
given to individual performance rather than group stereotype CCS ran the CEP for Arts Council England in 2013 and
(Bohnet, 2016). worked in partnership with the DWP and local Job Centres
In this context it is crucial to build relationships with across England to help reach as many young unemployed
organisations who are in touch with potential candidates from people as possible. The Programme has proved a great success,
marginalised or underrepresented groups. This point echoes the engaging over 1,100 employers and creating almost 4,500 job
previous insight on leaky pipelines and biased recruitment. and training opportunities among those who need the most help
in accessing the job market. CCS were able to support employers
to take on their first apprentice or paid intern both through
awarding funding and providing guidance on recruitment
practices and managing young people in the workplace.

124 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT ADAPTABILITY 125

‘The Creative Employment Programme was not RECRUITMENT PROCESSES
a diversity scheme – it was an employment
programme – but I can say that it has done more • Reduce subjectivity and bias by formalising
to change the diversity profile of our sector than recruitment processes

any other I have seen.’

Much has been written about the informal recruitment processes
Pauline Tambling CBE, Former CEO,
that characterise so many of the opportunities in creative and
Creative & Cultural Skills cultural sectors (Brook et al, 2020; McRobbie, 2018; Conor et al,
2015). Reputation, recommendation and personal relationships
The CEP created an average of two entry-level vacancies per CEP are often more important than skills and qualifications, especially
employer. Half of these employers did not have any entry-level in situations that are high risk and high investment, and rely
vacancies in the year prior to CEP funding. Half of CEP employers on subjective judgement of skills and experience. Indeed, the
employed at least one young person they originally recruited via literature from management studies reveals that even where
the CEP on a permanent basis. Most of the employers, including formal recruitment is used, there is often a ‘shadow structure’
those that did not retain their CEP recruits, said they were more (McGuire, 2002) of behind-the-scenes networking that, more
likely to consider recruiting young people in the future and work often than not, leads to hiring that replicates those who already
with a range of organisations, including Jobcentre Plus to support do the job, or are doing the employing and commissioning.
them to achieve that. Research has shown that unstructured, or informal interviews
CEP employers were also asked to what extent their or meetings are the least effective way of recruiting the best
involvement in the Programme had helped to address skills gaps candidate. Structured interviews – where each interviewee
in their organisation. Employers were asked to rate their scores is asked the same set of questions – diminishes subjectivity
on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is strongly disagree and 7 is strongly in evaluation and provides a much more effective way to evaluate
agree. On average, CEP employers reported a score of 5.1 potential hires (Bohnet, 2016). However, this does not mean that
indicating that they agreed that the CEP had helped to address panel interviews are the only way to proceed. The psychologist
their organisational skills gaps. Irving Janis (1971) coined the term ‘groupthink’ to describe how
the desire for harmony within any group can lead to poor decision
making. This is particularly problematic when there is already
an inbuilt hierarchy in the group, and can lead to subordinates
becoming skilled in understanding their boss’s tastes and
adjusting their evaluations accordingly (Draper, 2014). The ideal
recruitment process is a series of independent interviews that
are only compared once all have been completed. Other helpful
methods to improve objective evaluations include allocating
a devil’s advocate, or dividing people into sub-groups
(Bohnet, 2016).
Questions of taste and cultural capital are common
in creative recruitment, read through embodied markers

126 CREATIVE MAJORITY ADAPTABILITY 127

(Lee, 2011; Koppman, 2016; Friedman and Laurison, 2020) The content of job advertisements and descriptions is also
or ascertained through discussions of influences and idols and something to interrogate for bias. As we noted in earlier sections,
informed by narrow, often out-dated views of audience tastes job advertisements, as well as other public-facing material such
such as the white middle class woman in publishing (Saha and as websites and blogs, are important signals that can include
von Lente, 2020), white middle and upper classes in theatre or exclude potential candidates. Certain language or requirements
(Saha, 2017) can be off-putting or only appealing to some people but not
or young men in cinema (Sinclair et al, 2006; Erigha, 2020). others (Mullany and Cordell, 2021). It is vital to avoid assumptions
However, the use of taste and cultural capital as signifiers of and instead seek expert advice here. For example, only advertising
suitability have been shown to be shaped by gendered, raced and flexible working hours, but without organisational support for
classed ideas of what counts as important or worthwhile (Allen et this type of working, can lead to lower rates of racial diversity
al, 2013; Henry and Ryder, 2021; Lippens et al, 2020; Saha and van (Herring and Henderson, 2015) and has no effect on gender
Lente, 2020; Wreyford, 2018). equality (see above (Kalysh et al, 2016)). A report by the University
Making job opportunities fairer starts with being transparent of Nottingham funded by the UK’s Engineering and Physical
and open about vacancies (Herring and Henderson, 2015). In the Sciences Research Council (Mullany and Cordell, 2021) studied
creative sector, demand for work often far outstrips the work recruitment language and revealed patterns of exclusionary
available. Although posting information about jobs publicly language and unconscious bias. The key recommendations in the
is recommended to tackle inequality, this does not have to include report are: to include direct references to diversity and inclusion
posting in national newspapers but instead consider working with more frequently in job advertisements; include statements
organizations regionally and in marginalised communities who of encouragement and inclusion; acknowledge explicitly that
have better connections to a wider pool of talent. Joanna Abeyie, diversity benefits the organisation; and avoid identity labels
Co-Secretariat of the APPG for Creative Diversity and CEO (Mullany and Cordell, 2021).
of Blue Moon Agency, recommends searching for events online
and identifying the organisations hosting the events and then
building relationships with them:
Tools for a more equitable recruitment process:
‘Contacting these organisations as a recruiter can
open doors that may otherwise have been shut. • Encourage formal recruitment.
They may have direct suggestions for candidates • Take name and branding off job
and if so, these candidates have likely reached out advertisements.
to actively look for support in gaining employment. • Widen and diversify recruitment channels,
A young person with disabilities may be more partnering with grass roots organisations,
likely to go to a charity that runs employment as well as existing professional membership
programmes, especially if they’ve had little joy groups, social enterprises, and charities,
through conventional careers advice centres’. to help identify new candidates wherever
(Abeyie, 2019) possible.

128 CREATIVE MAJORITY ADAPTABILITY 129

 • Take proactive steps to diversify the CASE STUDY
pipeline or pool where recruitment happens,
including forging on-going relationships with SPREAD THE WORD
grassroots organisations and engaging with
Spread the Word launched the London Writers Awards in 2018
new channels.
to increase the number of writers from under-represented
• Aim for gender balanced shortlists.
communities being published. Each year 30 writers develop
• Aim for shortlists that are inclusive and their book projects over 10 months through critical feedback
reflect the population as a whole. groups, creative, career and self-care masterclasses, networking
• Increase transparency about available jobs opportunities and one-to-one support. The programme
by widely circulating opportunities. addresses the main barriers to progression for writers from
• Encourage de-bias evaluative protocol in under-represented communities: time, space, money and
hiring, e.g. ‘blind’ CV reviews (although this networks. The Awards are not only free at point of entry but also
provide bursaries and an access fund to pay for travel expenses,
doesn’t remove social clues towards class
a laptop, data, a scribe or an interpreter. Each year the programme
for example: Stephens et al, 2019).
has responded to feedback and brought in new components
• Offer performance-based or ‘work sample’ including an alumni network, teaching opportunities and a self-
interviews (Goldin and Rouse, 2000). care strand, giving each participant a holistic package of support
• Commit to a set of evaluative criteria and community to achieve their creative goals. The Awards
in advance of interviews or application are supported by Arts Council England, the Esmée Fairbairn
evaluation– and stick to it. Foundation and ALCS.
• Do not use informal, unstructured Over three years, there have been 739 applications
from London-based writers for 90 places on the programme.
interviews.
Participants on the Awards come from under-represented
• Penalise those responsible for recruitment
communities in publishing: disabled writers (15 percent);
if diversity is not improved. LGBTQIA+ writers (35 per cent); working-class writers (37 per
• Understand how different groups can cent); and writers of colour (67 per cent). To date (June 2021)
suffer from cultural bias, e.g. women are 22 awardees are agented and there have been 12 book deals,
disliked more for showing confidence than including Natasha Brown’s Assembly and Henry Fry’s First
men – and take steps to address this in the Time For Everything. 86 percent of awardees have had literary
evaluation process. agent interest in their projects with industry support from both
publishers and agents increasing year on year.

‘The programme has changed my life! I joined

it unemployed, struggling with Universal Credit
and caring for a family member. Through the

130 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT ADAPTABILITY 131

team’s advice on self-care and routes to work RETENTION AND PROMOTION
in literature, I’ve now got work at a feminist
press. My writing has changed vastly, and having • Marginalised groups have higher rates of leaving the
feedback so regularly helps me to feel less scared creative sector. Ensure working practices and assessment
of being edited by a publisher. I also have had processes are subject to the same scrutiny for fairness
and equality as recruitment.
many commissions through my association with
Spread the Word’.
Bias does not stop after recruitment (Stephens et al, 2019).
Tice Cin, a recipient of a London Writers Award As we saw in the Allyship section, creating an environment that
for Literary Fiction. Her debut novel, Keeping the is actively inclusive to marginalised groups has been shown
House, will be published by And Other Stories to lead to longer and better working relationships (Herring and
in September 2021 Henderson, 2015).
Performance evaluations for promotion, pay rises or future
contracts are all subject to potential bias – key in creative
The London Writers Awards programme demonstrates that and cultural sectors where reputation and assessment of the
an intersectional writer development approach can produce last job are so important. As with recruitment, it is important
results for the writers as well as the publishing industry. to continually review criteria for evaluation to make sure skills
To produce real and lasting change requires investment or merit are not being defined in a way that is biased against
and development work on a sustained basis. Coordination, underrepresented groups (Cheryan and Markus, 2020). Promotion
investment and collaboration is needed between the highest and re-employment also require a proactive approach to
levels in publishing and the non-for-profit literature sector, understand why some existing processes might not be allowing
including an acknowledgement of the vital expertise the all candidates to be appraised fairly. Keeping track of monitoring
sector brings in reaching and engaging writers and audiences, and evaluation processes can provide data that ensures
particularly those who feel excluded or not connected opportunities are truly meritocratic (Abeyie, 2019).
to the industry.
‘The Series Producer Programme in unscripted
ABOUT SPREAD THE WORD TV is aimed at bringing a range of talent into
senior positions and into leadership roles. Since
Spread the Word is London’s writer development agency,
it’s launch five years ago, we’ve had 113 delegates,
a charity and a National Portfolio client of Arts Council England.
In 2015, it launched Writing the Future: Black and Asian Writers
42 per cent have been out of London and 27
and Publishers in the UK Market Place. In 2020, it launched per cent from Black, Asian or other minority
Rethinking ‘Diversity’ in Publishing in partnership with Goldsmiths, background. From the 10 that have gone
University of London, The Bookseller and Words of Colour. on to become commissioners – really powerful
www.spreadtheword.org.uk influential roles – at Channel 4, the BBC, ITV and
UKTV, six of those are of colour and seven are

132 CREATIVE MAJORITY ADAPTABILITY 133

female. Another programme we’ve run – Make When men stockbrokers appeared to outperform women
A Move - runs across scripted and children’s stockbrokers, an examination of how accounts were allocated
TV and it provides more practical support for revealed the women were being assigned weaker accounts
people to step up into senior roles as producers, (Bohnet, 2016, p.119). This echoes the research that shows films
with women directors have less spend on prints and advertising
directors, writers, accountants, art department
(Jones, 2018) or the gendered design of book covers (Flood, 2013).
and more. At the end of the programme the
A study looking at investors found men were so overconfident in
beneficiary is established in a new role or able their own ability that they traded 45 per cent more than women
to apply for promotion. For Make A Move there investors and as a consequence made significantly less money
have been 89 beneficiaries, of which nearly 60 than the women (Bohnet, 2016). There is no evidence that self-
were from outside London’. evaluations yield any benefits for an organisation, and this should
Seetha Kumar, CEO, Screen Skills be borne in mind when assessing both recruitment processes
and promotion opportunities.

‘I think in newsrooms there’s a lot around culture;

who’s the in-group, where the promotions
happen. Is it down the pub? A lot of people from
Tools for a more equitable evaluation certain backgrounds aren’t networking at the
and promotion: pub after work – and mothers, parents – but
also if you’re not in that in-group you don’t hear
• Develop a system to ensure assignments about opportunities and promotions. To tackle
are equitably distributed. this, we’ve implemented reverse mentoring
• Be transparent about possible promotions. programmes, to help break down some
• Have clear promotion pathways and the of those barriers.’
criteria necessary for promotion. Priscilla Baffour, Head of Diversity and Inclusion
• Be transparent about pay. at TikTok Europe and Former Global Head
• Do not rely on self-nomination, which has of Diversity and Inclusion at Financial Times,
gendered and racial consequences. Roundtable 1
• Do not assume women with children don’t
want promotion.
• Do not assume that part time or flexible
workers are not suitable for promotion.

134 CREATIVE MAJORITY ADAPTABILITY 135

ADAPTABILITY These three recommendations reflect some of the practical
guidance in the research literature and discussed at the
For government: roundtables. It is important to stress, as with all of the other
recommendations, audits, training, and inclusive management
• DCMS should produce guidance for companies on how practices will not, in isolation, transform creative organisations.
to interrogate their recruitment practices to make them They are an important part of the practical steps to ‘what
fairer and inviting for all applicants. works’, but as both the literature review and roundtable
Throughout the APPG’s roundtables and research, it has participants stressed, supporting creative diversity demands
been clear the cultural and creative industries are keen more than one programme of training or one individual and
to be more diverse and open to all. Yet there is still organisational audit.
a great deal of confusion about how to adapt and adopt
best practices, or to understand what organisations and • Seek out relationships with grassroots organisations.
individuals need to change. In this context, DCMS could Larger organisations should also financially incentivise
follow the example of the Social Mobility Commission, which this with their partners
has produced guidance on both how to understand social
mobility and how to support it within the workforce. DCMS As with Allyship, much of the effective practice we heard
should build on this example for diversity beyond social at the roundtables was coming from smaller, grassroots,
mobility, to include the characteristics protected under organisations. Larger organisations can sometimes
the Equality Act 2010. be slower to pick up on the most up-to-date approaches,
and support for diversity can end up being driven by those
• DCMS should provide financial incentives for companies in the most marginal positions. As with the recommendation
forming working relationships with grassroots organisations. for government, companies should offer clear financial
incentives for grassroots organisations to work with larger
For organisations and businesses: organisations, to creating mutually beneficial, rather than
precarious and exploitative, relationships.
• Ensure all employees are put through an inclusion audit to
ensure ‘What Works’ is embedded throughout their careers.

• Ensure that managers attend mandatory, quarterly,

in depth inclusive leadership and education training.

• Equip middle managers with the skills to manage

everyone, including understanding how personal
characteristics such as disability, faith, sexuality,
and more impact on people’s lives.

136 CREATIVE MAJORITY ADAPTABILITY 137

ACCOUNTABILITY • SET GOALS/TARGETS AND MAKE PEOPLE
ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEM

ACCOUNTABILITY • REWARD PEOPLE FOR PROMOTING EQUITY

ACCOUNTABILITY • MEASURE PROGRESS AND BE TRANSPARENT

ABOUT BOTH SUCCESSES AND WHERE THERE

ACCOUNTABILITY
IS STILL WORK TO BE DONE

• BUILD ALLIANCES TO HELP ACHIEVE GOALS

ACCOUNTABILITY • MONITOR AND PUBLISH EQUAL PAY DATA

ACCOUNTABILITY • DO NOT LIMIT TO GENDER AND EXPLORE

INTERSECTIONALITY OF GENDER TOO

ACCOUNTABILITY • MONITOR STAFF’S MENTAL HEALTH

ACCOUNTABILITY
(AS THIS COULD INDICATE WORKING
PRACTICES ARE CAUSING DIFFICULTIES)
AND PROVIDE SUPPORT THAT SEEKS TO

ACCOUNTABILITY REMOVE STRESSES IN THE WORKPLACE

• MAKE LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE

DISCUSSIONS AND ISSUES THAT COME TO
LIGHT IN NETWORK GROUPS AND EXTERNAL
TASK FORCES

139
‘By bringing clear, reliable data and presenting Organisations that are most effective at increasing the
it regularly, showing the trends around gender diversity of their workforce are those that have paid positions
with a responsibility for ensuring goals are achieved (Kang and
demographics, around starters and leavers
Kaplan, 2019) and to ensure that expressing a commitment
in our business, and getting that in front to diversity turns into actual, on the ground, action on diversity
of my executive boards – add to that gender (Ahmed, 2007).
pay gaps and how that moves around year As discussed in the section on Ambition, these diversity
officers or task forces must have senior management involvement
on year – this becomes a topic that they can
and the power to hold individuals accountable for achieving D&I
recognise in a metric sense. Even if they’re not targets. People in these roles can identify the specific steps that
engaged in a moral sense, the business case need to be taken to ensure that goals are reached and identify
and the metric case make a very compelling how success will be measured (Stephens et al, 2020).
Most crucially, the benefits of diversity must be visible.
case for the boards. Data is very important
Thus Williamson et al, (2018) report rewarding people for
to get people talking’. promoting equality enables teams, and organisations, to see
Alasdair Henderson, Global Director HR Business how diversity benefits everyone. Iris Bohnet argues that ‘public
Partnering, BAM Nuttall, Roundtable 9 accountability matters’ (2016, p.280), and that it is a key factor
in ensuring people follow through on their good intentions.
Even more critically, the literature on accountability suggests
that those who have a responsibility for evaluating others are
GOAL SETTING AND CONSEQUENCES less likely to rely on stereotypes if they are required to explain
their choices within an accountability framework.
• Setting goals and attaching consequences
for reaching or failing to reach them increases
the likelihood of success in EDI .

Psychology research shows that goal-setting leads to increased

follow-through on intentions (Stephens et al, 2020). Goals
should be accompanied by a plan for achieving each one and
consequences for either reaching or failing to reach the goal
within a set timeframe. Efforts to establish responsibility for
diversity have been shown to lead to the biggest increases
in diversity (Kalev et al, 2006).

140 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCOUNTABILITY 141

CA SE STUDY Companies in the FTSE 250 have adopted voluntary targets for
gender equality on boards over the past few years, after previous
UKIE RAISETHEGAME PLEDGE initiatives failed. As a result, there are now 573 women holding 620
directorships (Vinnicombe et al, 2020). Precise targets to increase
RaiseTheGame is a collaborative and high-impact pledge the number of employees working flexibly increased from 20
to improve EDI in the games industry – creating cultures where percent in 2013-2014 to 42 per cent in 2020.
everyone belongs, voices are heard and ideas can thrive. It is
based on the principle that no one company can bring about
genuine and lasting change, but it must be felt throughout the
games industry in order for it to be a more welcoming place. THE FEMALE FTSE BOARD REPORT 2020,
The three pledge pillars encourage games businesses, TAKING TARGETS SERIOUSLY:
companies and organisations to be able to demonstrate change
by recruiting as fairly and widely as possible; educating and Targets enable cultural change and are a natural part
inspiring people to take more personal responsibility for fostering of how business works. They set a clear vision and keep
EDI; and improving diversity in every aspect of games work, from an organisation on track: it is how boards are largely measured.
design to marketing. The diversity and inclusion ambitions of a business are no less
To sign the pledge is to commit to undertaking change commercially important and, if treated in the same way
or activity in one of the pledge pillars over a 12 period. Once as other priorities, they will be held to account in the same way.
a year, the companies who have pledged are contacted to review
their diversity as a form of accountability to prove that they are
practicing what they say they are.
Making people accountable is effective in achieving desired
www.raisethegame.com outcomes for women in the workplace: ‘favouritism is unjust
and costly, and should be made costly for the supervisor
as well’. (Bohnet, 2016, p.116). EDI interventions are more likely
to succeed where they are tied to compensation for the
individuals responsible (Jordan, 1999). A systematic review
of 64 studies on discrimination against racially minoritised
people in recruitment (Lippens et al, 2020) concluded that
taste-based discrimination was most prevalant and could
be best addressed by a financial penalty for those who
discriminate. This could be applied within organisations
or sector-wide by an appointed body. Evidence from controlled
experiments in Denmark showed that discrimination against
racially minoritised people was reduced when a financial penalty
greater than 10 per cent of a person’s wage was introduced
(Hedegaard and Tyran, 2018).

142 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCOUNTABILITY 143

‘The middle managers are the hardest as Arts Council England, the BFI, Ukie, ScreenSkills, UK Theatre and
to convince. They have been referred to as Statista. In recent years, these datasets have been extended
“the frozen middle”. There need to be specific by academics and trade bodies in an effort to stimulate change,
actions and best practices to tackle this, with some degree of success, at least in keeping EDI on the
including mandated diverse shortlists and no agenda (see for example Calling the Shots21, Directors UK22, Writers
Guild of Great Britain23 and Inc Arts24, Jerwood Arts 2019, Bain
exceptions; KPIs that are monitored monthly that
2019). However, at present there is no responsibility for change
reflect the diversity you are trying to achieve associated with this data gathering and publication.
and taken as seriously as the financial KPIs. Too Data forces those at the top to confront underrepresentation
often banks put in non-financial KPIs, but when (Vinnicombe et al, 2020) and be transparent about progress.
it comes to bonus and compensation time, Moshiri and Cardon (2019) used a nationwide survey to show
they base it off the financial KPIs. Organisations that business schools who had achieved greater diversity had
that take EDI seriously look at both, and award more staff who were accountable for delivering on EDI goals,
as compared to those who were less successful.
compensations on both’.
Financial services research makes the argument for
Diana Brightmore-Armour,
measuring the effectiveness of diversity initiatives: assess
CEO of C.Hoare & Co., Roundtable 9 what worked, what didn’t, and adjust accordingly (Heffes 2009).
In addition, to understand how effective progress has been,
MEASURING PROGRESS TOWARDS EQUITY looking at retention and absenteeism can indicate where people
don’t feel valued (Jordan, 1999), and completing an annual
• A continuous process of tracking progress towards employee survey can provide important feedback (Heffes, 2009).
EDI is essential to ensure progress is being made and Monitoring success can take many forms such as establishing
interventions are having the hoped for effects. a committee that meets regularly, or developing a newsletter
to share outcomes and meeting regularly with members of
There is no one right way for every organisation when it comes marginalised groups. Tracking diversity statistics for applicants
to creating a more inclusive workforce. Monitoring progress and versus hires is another way to measure if an intervention
tracking the impact of initiatives in order to learn what works and is effective (Rivera, 2012; Abeyie, 2019).
what doesn’t is a key part of harnessing the potential of the UK’s
diverse population (Jerwood Arts 2019). ‘We ask organisations to join Stage Sight for
Without continuous data collection on workforce free, but by making a commitment to making
demographics and transparency of the results, it is
a practical change within their organisation.
impossible to keep track of whether EDI interventions are
The issue was that people didn’t know where
having the required results. Keeping regular data on workforce
demographics can help prevent the assumption that ‘things
to begin so we created a model where we look
are getting better’ (Everingham et al, 2007), or trusting that the at three areas: recruitment, reaching out, and
current EDI interventions are the right ones for change. The DCMS creating new pathways. So we would ask our
publishes workforce data, as do several industry bodies such members to sign up and express how they are

144 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCOUNTABILITY 145

going to make practical changes in at least CASE STUDY
one of those areas. A lot of our work is about
shared learning. We exchange information from NETFLIX
organisations implementing practical change.
In 2021, Netflix published its first global inclusion report which
Not one organisation will be able to have time,
outlines its approach to EDI and describes the diversity of its
resources or money, to explore change in all
workforce in the US. It is in the process of collecting equivalent
areas, but if we all make a change in one area data for its UK workforce. The UK is Netflix’s second biggest hub
and share our learning, also sharing what wasn’t for production globally. Since 2019, it has appointed nearly 20
successful, then hopefully that will lead to a wider UK-based commissioners and creative executives and in 2020
change across the whole sector. We have a case it spent over $1 billion on both UK originated content and non-UK
studies page on our website where you can report originated content produced in the UK. Its original productions
back on the practical changes that you’ve made, and co-productions in the UK create over 5,000 jobs each year
for cast and crew - with a recent concentration of production
the successes or failures. We hold quarterly
in Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, Newport, Edinburgh and
forums to bring our members together to discuss
London, and notable activity in Norwich, Suffolk, Bath and many
barriers and share learning.’ other locations.
www.stagesight.org/case-studies Netflix is determined to ensure its shows are diverse in front
Prema Mehta, Founder, Stage Sight, Roundtable 8 of and behind the camera. In order to assess whether the shows
it is making match Netflix’s ambitions for EDI, it asked Dr. Stacy
In the UK, the Creative Diversity Network’s Project Diamond L. Smith, the founder and director of USC Annenberg Inclusion
is perhaps the most ambitious and comprehensive data collecting Initiative, to study its US commissioned films and series over
exercise in the creative sector. It sits alongside information a two-year period from 2018 to 2019. The resulting USC
published annually by DCMS, and its arms-length bodies, such Annenberg report, published in February 2021, analyses the
as Arts Council England and the BFI. Diamond’s aim is to capture makeup of Netflix’s on-screen talent as well as creators,
data on every part of the television production and supply chain producers, writers and directors (Smith et al 2021)..
in order to provoke better EDI and to hold the broadcasters Netflix has made this report public in the interests
accountable for it. As well as providing regular reports on the of transparency and because it understands that without this
data gathered from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky, kind of information it’s hard to judge whether it is improving
the Network’s website offers a range of tools and resources or not. It is very open about the fact that while Netflix has made
for recruiting and employing a more diverse workforce (www. advances in representation year-over-year, it still has a way
creativediversitynetwork.com). to go. As the report shows, it is outpacing the industry in hiring
women and women of colour to direct their films, and women
creators to bring series to the screen. It has achieved gender
equality in leading roles across its films and series.

146 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCOUNTABILITY 147

It has exceeded proportional representation of Black leads, ‘An internal evaluation structure that also had
co-leads and main cast across the two years but not all racial/ some sanctioning quality attached would be
ethnic groups saw their representation increase during the same really, really helpful. At the moment the evaluation
period. Netflix recognises that it still has notable representation sits within the Arts Council. There is a wide degree
gaps in film and series for Latinx, Middle Eastern/North African,
of conflict between what people tell the Arts
American Indian/Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific
Council, what is shared with the Arts Council,
Islander communities. It also recognises from the report that
it still has work to do in increasing representation of the LGBTQ+
who’s telling what. So an independent space
community and characters with disabilities. where that evaluation takes place, and where
Netflix has developed a set of UK Diversity and Inclusion that organisation can reflect back sanctions,
Best Practice Guidelines for production of commissioned original would be really helpful. In-kind funding which
series, which set aspirational targets for race, gender, disability appears in Grant Aid funding requests for Arts
and LGBTQ+ representation. They are intended to drive discussion Council. In putting in for funding, people are asked
with production partners, highlight shortcomings and ensure
to evidence the in-kind support that they have.
that the company continues to improve. The guidelines are
Many people felt that in-kind support itself was
complemented by measures to ensure inclusive practices
on set, including ‘Respect@Netflix’ training for all cast and crew
not inclusive because it is more difficult
prior to a production commencing, and a production hotline for to achieve for people if they are working from
anonymous reporting of inappropriate behaviour. the margins already’.
Amanda Parker, Founder, Inc Arts UK,
Roundtable 5

BUILD ALLIANCES WITH GRASSROOTS

ORGANIZATIONS.

• Establishing relationships with outside organisations

can increase the diversity and success rate of diverse
candidates for work and funding opportunities

Throughout the course of this report we have highlighted the

need to develop better and stronger links between major
organisations and funders and the smaller, grassroot, and
independent organisations that are often crucial crucibles for
diversity. At the publishing roundtable25, the APPG heard from
organisations working with underrepresented groups who are

148 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT ACCOUNTABILITY 149

having success in developing writers and bringing them model and has really informed and shaped our
to publication (see also Saha and van Lente, 2020). policy development and strategy. Nothing About
However, these voices were equal parts satisfied and Us Without Us has been a really key theme
frustrated at seeing writers they nurtured go on to be published of the group. We’ve done a really prominent
by the larger, more well-known publishers. Although pleased to
campaign with Changing Faces, which is a charity
see the success of individuals, they were disappointed at the lack
that campaigns to support people with visible
of recognition of the work they had done to develop these writers
- in some cases going as far as to ignore their publications and
difference. It was called #IAmNotYourVillain and
treat the writers as ‘debut’ writers when they are published with it was about decoupling villainy on screen from
them - as well as the lack of financial compensation for bringing people with visible difference. The BFI has made
writers to the attention and the standard of the bigger publishers. a policy decision that it won’t fund films that
A similar relationship exists in other creative industries. For perpetuate that stereotype. Similarly, in February,
example: between indie games developers and what are known we made another pledge and commitment
as AAA companies - the large producers and distributors (Ruberg,
to avoid at all costs ‘cripping up’.’
2019; Sruay, 2019; Whitson, 2019). It also resembles both the
Jen Smith, Head of Inclusion, BFI, Roundtable 4
television (Morris et al, 2016; Leadbetter and Oakley 1999) and film
industries (Dyondi et al, 2020; Biskind, 2016) where independent
producers often work in lopsided relationships with broadcasters MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING
and distributors.
• Monitor the mental health and wellbeing of your employees
‘The BFI has three Screen Advisory Groups – and those of your contractors, as it can be a sign that
one with BEATS, who advocate for better visibility, working practices are creating burdens and exclusions
for some. Take steps to address this.
representation and opportunity for British east
Asian and south-east Asian artists and creatives;
In recent years the significant effect inequalities have on mental
one with The Riz Test who advocate for the better health and wellbeing has become apparent in the creative and
representation of people of Muslim faith and cultural industries. The Looking Glass survey commissioned by the
to steer away from damaging stereotypes; and Film and TV Charity found that 87 per cent of the screen sector
one is a partnership with DANC, the Disabled workforce had experienced a mental health problem (Wilkes et
Artists Networking Community, based in al, 2020). 64 percent reported having experienced depression -
Manchester and they have a reach of over 800 much higher than the national average of 42 per cent. In addition
10 per cent said they had tried to take their own life. Increased risk
artists. We have strategic partnerships in place
factors were evident for freelance workers, people from a racially
with those organisations and then we have
minoritised group, LGBTQ+ individuals and those with a disability
representative advisory groups that really push (Wilkes et al, 2020).
and inform the policy of the BFI. Our Disability The reasons given by the survey respondents are very
Screen Advisory Group is the most matured much in line with the aspects of creative sector work that also

150 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCOUNTABILITY 151

marginalise the social groups and communities discussed in this A study by Columbia University Mailman School
report: namely long hours, lack of work-life balance, a culture of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology
of bullying and cliques making people feel they don’t belong revealed that women who suffer from a gender
(Wilkes et al, 2020). The report cites those at greatest risk of pay gap are 2.5 times more likely to suffer
mental health problems stemming from work as being: freelancers,
from depression. ... Another study by Cornell
women, those working with distressing content, those already
University’s College of Human Ecology in 2017
suffering from mental illness, racially minoritised workers, disabled
workers, LGBTQ+ workers and people with caring responsibilities.
showed a clear link between being the victim
Indeed, a study produced in rapid response to mental health of racial discrimination at work and a range
during the COVID-19 pandemic, found depression and anxiety of mental health issues.
were higher in younger populations, women, those living alone and (Henry and Ryder, 2021, p.90)
in socio-economic adversity (Kwong et al, 2020). They did not
find elevated risk, however, in key workers or health care workers, EQUAL PAY
suggesting that the difference in mental health was less due to the
risk of catching the virus than to other related concerns such • Monitor pay and regularly publish results.
as financial hardship and the pressures of having to juggle • Work to eradicate pay gaps.
childcare and work.
Monitoring the mental health and wellbeing of the workforce ‘The formal process of gender pay gap reporting
- both employees and freelancers, as well as within commissions and the public transparency of the reports has
and projects - is essential in order to understand how well an
clearly made a substantial impact on the sector.’
employer or commissioner is doing (Nadinloyi et al, 2013). If there
Marie-Claire Isaaman, CEO, Women in Games,
are significant mental health problems in one group, for example
those identified by the Film and TV Charity, or indeed across the
Roundtable 3
entire workforce, it gives indications about structural exclusions
and the burdens placed on specific groups in the workforce One significant way to monitor workplace equality is through
and is clearly related to barriers to creative diversity. Monitoring understanding equal pay. Understanding how and why pay gaps
underpins possible actions, as we’ve seen with the other elements exist is not straightforward. There is clear evidence that pay
of ‘Accountability’. gaps exist for women, mothers, people from a working-class
background or an racially minoritised groups, those living outside
of London, and all the intersections of these (Oakley et al, 2017;
Friedman and Laurison, 2020).
Two basic forms can be distinguished: the gap between well-
paid and less well-paid occupations; and being paid differently
for the same work. The latter is discrimination and is illegal,
so can theoretically be tackled with recourse to the law, but only
if the individual is aware of the gap. This disparity of pay within
occupations remains a large part of the overall pay gap (Brynin,

152 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCOUNTABILITY 153

2017). However, where good information is readily available Britain have consistently low employment rates, with the women
about salary structures and individuals’ pay, the pay gap can lowest of all at below 30 per cent (Longhi and Brynin, 2017). Indian
be significantly reduced (Bowles et al, 2005). and Chinese men (both British and born abroad) and British-
The more complex pay gaps arise where certain groups are born Black African men have similar earnings to white British men,
found most commonly in less well-paid professions, otherwise but Black African men born abroad, Black Caribbean men and
known as occupational segregation (Brynin and Güveli, 2012). all Pakistani and Bangladeshi men earn less (Longhi and Brynin,
Social pressures and norms influence gender and other roles and 2017). Racially minoritised women generally earn more than white
shape the career paths than people follow (Brynin, 2017) and some British women. All Indian, all Chinese, British-born Black Caribbean
pay gaps are at least partly caused by discrimination (Longhi and and British-born Black African women all generally have pay
Brynin, 2017). advantages. British-born Pakistani and Bangladeshi women, Black
Creating equal opportunities for negotiation is a key African and Black Caribbean women born abroad tend to have pay
behavioural design intervention against pay gap discrimination. similar to White British women’s (Longhi and Brynin, 2017).
This can be achieved through pay transparency, inviting people Disabled people are less likely to be in employment than non-
to self-nominate and allowing negotiation on behalf of others disabled people (Longhi, 2017). The disability pay gap in the period
(Bohnet 2016). Women not asking for promotion or more pay 1997-2014 was 13 per cent for men and 7 per cent for women. Men
is ‘not a matter of timidity, but of backlash’ (Bohnet, 2016, p.70). with epilepsy have a pay gap of 40 per cent; for women it’s 20 per
Since early evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic suggests cent. Men with learning difficulties have a pay gap of around 60
women were disproportionately affected in the workplace per cent. Men with physical impairments have pay gaps between
(Wreyford et al, 2021), and especially for Black, Asian or other 15 and 28 per cent and for women it is between 8 and 18 per cent.
racially minoritised women (Fawcett Society et al, 2021), the Where ethnic pay gaps exist they tend to become larger when
government’s decision to suspend the 2020 gender pay gap there is also a disability. Disabled people are more likely to work
reporting because of the pandemic is unlikely to have improved part time and are less likely to have a degree.
the situation for women (Topping and Barr, 2021).
In 2019, the gender pay gap for full time employees was at 8.9 CONSULTATION WITH OUTSIDE SPECIALISTS
per cent, a decrease of only 0.6 per cent since 2012. The gender
pay gap for all employees was 17.3 per cent in 2019 (Vinnicombe • Using an external resource in collaboration with internal
et al, 2020). While part-time women earn slightly more than EDI and HR representatives is the most effective way
part-time men (6 percent), women are four times more likely to implement a successful strategy.
to work part-time than men, with nearly two-fifths of women in
employment working part time. Part-time women earn 37 per Marvyn Harrison, Chief Growth Officer at BELOVD Agency and
cent less than full-time men (Brynin, 2017). Young women and Founder of Dope Black CIC recommends working with an outside
unmarried women earn more than older and married women consultancy to design and implement an EDI strategy, since
Brynin, 2017). In addition, gay men have been shown to earn less pushing for change from within an organisation can be difficult.
than heterosexual men and lesbian women to earn less than Getting sign-off from people who employ you can be challenging
heterosexual women (Antecol et al, 2008). and asking staff to fix the problems of an organisation they didn’t
White British men have the highest employment rates at 70 create is problematic in many ways according to Harrison.
percent. Pakistani and Bangladeshi men and women born outside He suggests using an external resource that then feeds into

154 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCOUNTABILITY 155

different stakeholders internally who understand the issues from CASE STUDY
a lived experience. The agreed strategy should also be monitored
at the end of the year by the external consultancy to understand BLUE MOON
how impactful the change has been, and then be revised for the
year ahead.26 Joanna Abeyie is co-secretariat of the APPG for Creative Diversity
Joanna Abeyie of Blue Moon discussed how to start looking and Founder and CEO of Blue Moon, which helps businesses
for sources of diverse employees: ‘Put yourself in the shoes of the recruit a diverse workforce while creating inclusive environments
person who has been overlooked all the time. Where do they go? that ensure everyone thrives. Joanna spoke about the Blue
If I’m a Black journalist, for example, who is not having success Moon approach and how businesses can make changes to their
getting work, I might join a network for BAME journalists, so I’d recruitment and retention processes.
Google “Organisations that support ethnic minority journalists”. Blue Moon carries out an audit on your company, looking
If it’s an entry level role, I might look for “Media training for at the attraction process, recruitment process, culture and
underrepresented groups”. Ring them up and get to know who progression with a fine tooth comb. This means looking at where
they have access to. Get to know the talent in your network. Even job adverts go, how they are written, the language used, CV
COOs join these groups because they feel marginalised. Look redaction, interview training, interview questions and interrogating
at EventBrite; people underestimate that. There are so many every element of the process. The minimum amount of time this
events on there, and if you click on who runs those events, they takes is six months.
are typically organisations that are running events to connect Blue Moon also looks at a company’s policies, who goes
people. There are groups on LinkedIn, on Facebook, on WhatsApp. to employee network sessions and how things are communicated
You need to provide the space and time in the diary for these to the board. ‘Organisations have policies such as for sexual
things. It’s not necessarily for the CEO, but the people they harassment and bullying, but they are often not up to date, e.g.
employ. It’s a role for HR, but you have to give them the time do they have a menopause policy, a transitioning policy? These
to do it’. policies can be used by managers to identify areas for their own
upskilling and education. I feel like organisations are not preparing
managers for the broad diversity that they are asking them
to bring into the business’.
Blue Moon encourages the use of performance management
software platforms such as OpenBlend (www.openblend.com) for
transparent progression and promotion. These programmes allow
HR and senior management to monitor managers and hold them
to account for any biases that they might have.
‘The gender pay gap revealed inequities for women. But every
board I’ve looked at. I’ve never seen someone wearing a hijab on
a board, I very rarely see a south-east Asian woman, I never see
a dark-skinned Black woman. So when we look at the gender pay
gap, it’s important that we look at inequities within the group

156 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCOUNTABILITY 157

of women. What we do with our pay analysis is also look Online tools to help businesses improve
at whether Black men and Black women are being paid less than the inclusiveness of their job adverts and
white women, as the BBC discovered when looking at its pay gaps’. interview and assessment processes:
Joanna’s first business was called Shine Media. It placed
3,000 people into work in creative businesses through these
• Using lessons from behavioural
processes by building relationships with the organisations.
psychology, services such
She also got to know the candidates, what their challenges
are and what they needed in order to be successful in the
as www.beapplied.com and
recruitment process. www.gapjumpers.me are able to blind
Blue Moon recommends asking search firms for a sample pool assign applications to different evaluators;
of the candidates they can put you in touch with before giving provide work sample tests that assess
them any money. If they suggest people they have through applicants on real tasks required for the
a mentoring or training scheme, they are probably not the right job; and supply tools for writing inclusive
firm because they are looking at the individuals as needing
job adverts.
upskilling. There may well be people who need upskilling,
• Bias Interrupters - The Centre for Worklife
but there are many out there who don’t.
Law at the University of California Hastings
www.createbluemoon.com College of the Law
• Bias Busting Strategies worksheets
created by the Engendering Success
in STEM

‘Clear benchmarking comes through having

the data. For me, what is really missing is the
standard, the benchmarking. We often see a lot
of standards and benchmarking when it comes
to sustainability and corporate responsibility.
What is the standard that we are all working
towards and wanting to achieve in D&I?’
Amir Kabel,Global Director, Diversity and
Inclusion, Burberry, Roundtable 2

158 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT ACCOUNTABILITY 159

External benchmarks can also help an organisation understand have datasets. In film and TV, Project Diamond has become
and assess their performance against industry or even global an important source of understanding data in the industry,
standards. There are many organisations that offer services alongside annual reports from organisations such as the BBC.
to measure diversity efforts via a scorecard (Heffes, 2009) Yet there is no central hub for this data and no clear indication
where each line of business and function is measured on if diversity across the sector is getting better or worse. Thus,
their representation and placement of females and racially it is impossible to hold anyone to account. DCMS must take
minoritised people as it relates to the overall availability within the responsibility for diversity data, as part of a new commitment
marketplace. An Equalities Scorecard (Equality and Human Rights to having a formal policy and KPIs in this area.
Commission, 2007) can help individual organisations and leaders
to be made more accountable for delivery equality outcomes. • Deliver a Workforce Information Bill by the end of this
We began this report by noting that ‘What Works’ offered Parliament in 2024, to increase mandatory pay gap
a chance for policy makers, major organisations, and senior figures reporting across multiple protected characteristics
in the creative sector to take leadership for delivering on creative and to smaller organisations.
diversity. As our discussion of accountability has shown, there
will be no change without means and mechanisms to hold the Pay gap reporting works, but it is currently too limited.
sector accountable. By using the tools contained in this report, As recommended by the APPG for Diversity and Inclusion
and implementing our recommendations, government, business in STEM, a Workforce Information Bill is urgently needed.
and organisations now have a real opportunity to create the right The COVID-19 suspension of mandatory reporting must
conditions for equity, diversity and inclusion in the creative sector. now be revoked and companies required by law to publish
intersectional pay gap reports annually.
Policy recommendations for Accountability
For organisations and businesses:

ACCOUNTABILITY • Publish annual data on workforce demographics, along with

pay, and pay gap data for key characteristics including
For government: gender, race, class, parenthood, and disability.

• DCMS must coordinate data collection, publication, The roundtables, and the academic literature were clear: data
and target setting across the creative economy. is essential to supporting creative diversity. Data will not be
useful if it is difficult to access or hidden. Organisations must
There is a wealth of data about diversity in the creative commit to collecting and publishing key data as the basis for
economy. Every year, DCMS publishes workforce statistics. any creative diversity policy or action plans.
The three national Arts Councils and Creative Scotland, the BFI,
and Ofcom collect data, and subsector bodies and support
agencies, including Ukie, Creative and Cultural Skills, BAFTA,
SOLT, and UK Music, as well as campaigning organisations such
as PiPA, Raising Films, and Freelancers Make Theatre Work, all

160 CREATIVE DIVERSITY REPORT ACCOUNTABILITY 161

For everyone:

• Accountability is at the beginning, and at the end, of any

attempt to support creative diversity. Holding to account
is a shared task for workers, businesses, audiences, citizens,
and policymakers. Without the demand that our creative
economy becomes more diverse, change will not happen.

21
www.womencallingtheshots.com
22
www.directors.uk.com/campaigns
23
www.writersguild.org.uk/about/campaigns
24
www.incarts.uk/incarts-research
25
Roundtable 10, see Appendix 2
26
Roundtable 9, see Appendix 2

162 CREATIVE MAJORITY ACCOUNTABILITY 163

CONCLUSION process, but produce a moment of reflection and instruction,
a way to measure what has worked, to adapt and refocus where
necessary and begin the cycle again, going back to redesign new
ambitions, or different approaches to the same ones.

Evidence from the field of medicine is that mandatory policies ‘It’s having all of those elements in terms of data
are far more effective than voluntary ones in creating change. evidence, taking measurable action, evaluation
Equality of opportunity and freedom from discrimination and
and learning, and building on previous action’.
harassment has not been achieved voluntarily in the NHS despite
Collette Cork-Hurst, Senior Manager for Diversity,
a Race Equality Action Plan requiring data collection on nine
indicators of workforce (in)equality (Priest et al, 2015). Monitoring
Arts Council England, Roundtable 5
and evaluation has to happen. The current lack of ‘What Works’
thinking, particularly in association with evaluations, means we ‘This is not a situation where we will reach
struggled with the literature review to find high-quality evidence. a destination. This is a process that will be
The five As introduced in this report need to become the continual and that we will have to make sure
pillars for any organisation to use as a blueprint for designing efforts are maintained and continued’.
how to be more inclusive and fair, and as benchmarks to keep
Terry Adams, Senior Projects Manager for
coming back to in order to understand what is working and how
Diversity, Arts Council England, Roundtable 5
they could do more. There is a progression through the As that
is intended to guide the process of supporting, encouraging and
ultimately improving EDI in your own workplace, however big
or small.
It starts with leadership and AMBITION, making sure that
EDI is not something that happens as an add on, or a separate
department from your core business. This in turn provokes
ALLYSHIP and culture change, creating the right environment for
any steps or changes that need to be made, ensuring that they
have the best chance of success. ACCESSIBILITY offers a chance
to consider who is finding it hard to be a part of your workforce,
and points the way to how to begin to address this.
All companies and institutions will have their own challenges,
and ADAPTABILITY speaks to how you can make changes and
where. Finally ACCOUNTABILITY is designed to incentivise
individuals and monitor results for learning and returning to the
start, for the five As are also a continuum. The data gained through
monitoring should not be understood as simply the end of the

164 CREATIVE MAJORITY CONCLUSION 165

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Straub, C (2007). A comparative analysis of the use of work-life balance https://filmtvcharity.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/The-Looking-
practices in Europe. Women in Management Review 22(4): pp289-304. Glass-Final-Report-Final.pdf
Summers, H (2021). UK government ‘failed to consider gender’ in its response to Williamson, S, Colley, L, Foley, M and Cooper, R.(2018). The role of middle
COVID pandemic. The Observer. Accessed here: https://www.theguardian. managers in progressing gender equity in the public sector. Canberra:
com/world/2021/may/08/uk-government-failed-to-consider-gender-in-its- University of New South Wales.
response-to-covid-pandemic Wilton L, Apfelbaum E and Good J (2019). Valuing differences and reinforcing
Sunstein, C (2015). Nudges and choice architecture: Ethical considerations.Yale them: multiculturalism increases race essentialism. Social Psychological and
Journal on Regulation. Personality Science. 10(5): pp.681-689.
Tandoh-Offin, P (2010). Women’s Legislative Representation and Gender Wreyford, N (2015). Birds of a feather: Informal recruitment practices and
Equality: What Works in the Absence of a ‘Critical Mass’. In APSA 2010 Annual gendered outcomes for screenwriting work in the UK film industry. The
Meeting Paper. Sociological Review, 63(1) pp.84-96.
Taylor, S and Luckman, S (2020). New pathways into creative work?. In Pathways Wreyford, N (2018) Gender Inequality in Screenwriting Work. London: Pagrave
into Creative Working Lives (pp. 267-281). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan Macmillan
Tomlinson, M (2008). ‘The degree is not enough’: students’ perceptions of the Wreyford, N, Kennedy, H, Newsinger, J and Aust, R (2021) Locked Down and
role of higher education credentials for graduate work and employability. Locked Out. The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mothers Working in
British Journal of Sociology of Education, 29(1): pp.49-61. the UK Television Industry. University of Nottingham.

176 CREATIVE MAJORITY REFERENCES 177

APPENDIX 1: SEARCH TERMS Table 2

Table 1
TERMS SCOPUS GOOGLE SCHOLAR
TITLES SINCE 2000
TERM ‘WHAT SCOPUS GOOGLE SCHOLAR
WORKS’ + (excluding citations) diversity 279 17

diversity 4625 4,400,000 Inclusion 21 20

inclusion 3167 4,460,000 creative 76 24

creative 4578 4,420,000 culture n/a 19

culture 13673 5,430,000 employment 15 45

employment 6075 3,450,000 impact n/a 10

impact 22707 6,060,000 industry n/a 8

industry 12212 5,080,000 collective 1 3

collective 9 3,620,000 intervention n/a 9

intervention 10952 4,380,000 race 44 7

gender 149 20

disability 188 3

equality 30 8

Case study - 5

178 CREATIVE MAJORITY APPENDIX 179

 Vikki Cook
APPENDIX 2: ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS Director, Content and Media Policy, Ofcom
Delyth Thomas
We are immensely grateful to all those who took the time Director
Lidia Gasiorek
to participate in the roundtable sessions. They are listed below. Senior Policy Advisor, Skills and Diversity, DCMS
Andrew Chowns
Roundtable 1: Diversity and Inclusion Leads,
Former CEO, Directors UK
20th May 2020
Simon Albury
Chair, Campaign for Broadcasting Equality
Chair: Chi Onwurah MP
Co-chair of the APPG for Creative Diversity
Roundtable 2: Fashion, 17th June 2020

Contributors:
Chair: Helen Grant MP
Vice-chair of APPG for Creative Diversity
Alykhan Kaba
Corporate Strategy, King Digital Entertainment
Contributors:
Eleanor Lisney
CEO, Culture Access
Amir Kabel
Gidon Freeman
Global Director, Diversity and Inclusion, Burberry
Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs, NBCUniversal
Jennifer Boulanger
Miranda Wayland
Director of Talent Acquisition EMEA, Nike
Head of Creative Diversity, BBC
Joanne Entwistle
Priscilla Baffour
Reader in Culture and Creative Industries, King’s College London
Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Financial Times
Shakaila Forbes-Bell
Robert Adediran
Fashion Psychologist
Executive Director, London Music Masters
Sunil Makan
Sara Whybrew
Associate Editor, Marie Claire
Director of Policy and Development, Creative and Cultural Skills
Tamara Cincik
Sarah Gregory
CEO, Fashion Roundtable
Head of Creative Careers, Creative Industries Federation
Tom Adeyoola
Simon Devereux
Founder and ex-CEO, Metail
Founder, Access: VFX and DandI Sony Playstation
Judith Rosser-Davies
Wincie Knight
Head of Government Relations, Education
Senior Director, Global Inclusion Strategy, ViacomCBS
and Talent Initiatives, British Fashion Council
Craig Robinson
Nick Perry
NBCUniversal
Talent and Acquisitions Manager, UK and Ireland, Nike

Observing:
Observing:

Alex Pleasants
Alex Pleasants
co-secretariat, APPG
co-secretariat, APPG
Joanna Abeyie
Joanna Abeyie
co-secretariat, APPG and founder, Blue Moon
co-secretariat, APPG and founder, Blue Moon
Dave O’Brien
Dave O’Brien
research adviser, APPG and Chancellor’s fellow,
research adviser, APPG and Chancellor’s fellow,
University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
Baroness Jane Bonham Carter
Gidon Freeman
Helen Grant MP
VP of Government and Regulatory Affairs, NBCUniversal
Tracy Brabin MP

180 CREATIVE MAJORITY APPENDIX 181

Roundtable 3: Gaming, 15th July 2020 Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner
Co-Chairmen, Working Title Films
Chair: Baroness Jane Bonham Carter Arit Eminue
Vice Chair of APPG for Creative Diversity Founder and Director, DIVA Apprenticeships
Seetha Kumar
Contributors: Chief Executive, ScreenSkills
Polly Kemp
Dr Jo Twist Founder, Equal Representation for Actresses
CEO, Ukie Adam Kinsley
Anna Mansi Director of Policy, Sky
Head of Certification, BFI Jen Smith
Charlotte Harris Head of Inclusion, BFI
Head of production, SEGA Europe Kim Tserkezie
Anderona Cole Actress and MD, Scattered Pictures
Ex-Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Ukie Clive Nwonka
Marie-Claire Issaman CEO, Women in Games LSE Fellow in Film Studies
Mark Taylor
Senior Lecturer, University of Sheffield Observing:
Alison Harvey
Assistant Professor in Communications, York University Baroness Deborah Bull
Chester King Co-Chair of APPG for Creative Diversity
Chief Executive, British Esports Association Baroness Jane Bonham Carter
Kish Hirani Alex Pleasants
CTO, Terra Virtua and Chair, BAME in Games co-secretariat, APPG
Joanna Abeyie
Observing: co-secretariat, APPG and founder, Blue Moon
Dave O’Brien
Alex Pleasants research adviser, APPG and Chancellor’s fellow,
co-secretariat, APPG University of Edinburgh
Joanna Abeyie Gidon Freeman
co-secretariat, APPG and founder, Blue Moon VP Government and Regulatory Affairs, NBCUniversal
Dave O’Brien
research adviser, APPG and Chancellor’s fellow, Roundtable 5: Arts and Culture,
University of Edinburgh 14th October 2020
Gidon Freeman
VP of Government and Regulatory Affairs, NBCUniversal Chair: Baroness Deborah Bull
Lidia Gasiorek Co-chair of APPG for Creative Diversity
Senior Policy Adviser, DCMS
Contributors:
Roundtable 4: Film and TV, 16th September 2020
Marine Tanguy
Chair: Tracy Brabin MP Founder, MTArt Agency
Vice-Chair of APPG for Creative Diversity Amanda Parker
and Shadow Minister for Cultural Industries Director Inc Arts UK and Editor ArtsProfessional
Holly Donagh
Contributors: Director of Strategic Learning, Insight and Influence,
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Adeel Amini Collette Cork-Hurt
TV Producer and Founder, The TV Mindset Senior Manager for Diversity,Arts Council England

182 CREATIVE MAJORITY APPENDIX 183

Terry Adams Indy Vidyalankara
Senior Projects Manager for Diversity, Arts Council England Head of Communications, Tomorrow’s Warrior
Tarek Iskander and Board Member, Parents in Performing Arts
Chief Exec, Battersea Arts Centre Jamie Njoku-Goodwin
Hannah Azieb Pool Chief Executive, UK Music
CEO, Bernie Grants Art Centre Ammo Talwar
Sorrel Hershberg Chair, UK Music Diversity Taskforce
Exec Director, Create London Alex Boateng
Andrew Miller Former President of Urban, Island Records
UK Govenment Disability Champion, Arts and Co-President,0207 Def Jam Label at Universal
Arike Oke
Managing Director, Black Cultural Archive Observing:
Lucy Kennedy
Chief Exec, National Saturday Club Baroness Deborah Bull
Zena Tuitt Co-Chair of APPG for Creative Diversity
Board Trustee, Theatre 503 Baroness Jane Bonham Carter
Dr Rupa Huq MP
Observing: Alex Pleasants
Co-Secretariat, APPG
Alex Pleasants Joanna Abeyie
co-secretariat, APPG Co-Secretariat, APPG and Founder, Blue Moon
Joanna Abeyie Dave O’Brien
co-secretariat, APPG and founder, Blue Moon Research Adviser, APPG and Chancellor’s Fellow,
Dave O’Brien University of Edinburgh
research adviser, APPG and Chancellor’s fellow, Natalie Wreyford
University of Edinburgh Research Fellow, APPG and King’s College London
Tamsyn Dent
Roundtable 6: Music, 18th November 2020 Research Fellow, King’s College London
Moira Sinclair
Chair: Lord Ed Vaizey Chief Executive, Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Vice-Chair of APPG for Creative Diversity Elizabeth Kanter
UK Director of Public Policy, TikTok
Contributors:
Roundtable 7: Policy and academia,
Ruth Patterson 16th December 2020
Musician and Ambassador,Attitude is Everything
Preye Crooks Chair: Baroness Deborah Bull
AandR Manager Co-chair of APPG for Creative Diversity
Sony Music and Co-Founder Strawberries and
Creem Festival and The Cambridge Club Festival Contributors:
Stuart Murphy
Chief Executive, English National Opera Eliza Easton
Vick Bain Head of Policy, Creative PEC and Nesta
Diversity Consultant, Diversity in the Music Industry Sam Friedman
Alex Rawle Associate Professor of Sociology,
Public Policy Manager, TikTok London School of Economics and Commissioner,
Katrina Burns-Temison Social Mobility Commission
Musician

184 CREATIVE MAJORITY APPENDIX 185

Farah Storr David Albury
Editor-in-Chief, ELLE and Commissioner, Actor
Social Mobility Commission
Anamik Saha Observing:
Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications, Goldsmiths
Melanie Ramdarshan Bold Luke Rittner
Senior Lecturer in Publishing and Book Studies, Chief Exec, Royal Academy of Dance
University College London Alex Pleasants
Pamela Roberts Co-Secretariat, APPG
Founder, Black Oxford Untold Stories Joanna Abeyie
Co-Secretariat, APPG and Founder, Blue Moon
Observing: Dave O’Brien
Research Adviser, APPG and Chancellor’s Fellow,
Alex Pleasants University of Edinburgh
Co-Secretariat, APPG Natalie Wreyford
Joanna Abeyie Research Fellow, APPG and King’s College London
Co-Secretariat, APPG and Founder, Blue Moon Tamsyn Dent
Dave O’Brien Research Fellow, King’s College London
Research Adviser, APPG and Chancellor’s Fellow, Jenny Butterfield
University of Edinburgh Masters Student, University of Edinburgh
Natalie Wreyford
Research Fellow, APPG and King’s College London Roundtable 9: Learning from Other Sectors,
Tamsyn Dent 17th March 2021
Research Fellow, King’s College London
Jenny Butterfield Chair: Baroness Jane Bonham Carter
Masters Student, University of Edinburgh Vice chair of APPG for Creative Diversity

Roundtable 8: Theatre and dance, Contributors:

24th February 2021
Faizah Tahir
Chair: Baroness Deborah Bull Head of Diversity and Talent Development, OSTC
Co-chair of APPG for Creative Diversity Marvyn Harrison
Founder, Dope Black Dads and VP Business Strategy, Belovd Agency
Contributors: Darrell Abbondanza
International VP People, Qurate Retail Group
Cassa Pancho Alasdair Henderson
Founder/CEO, Ballet Black Global Director, HR Business Partnering, Civil, BAM Nuttall
Prema Mehta Diana Brightmore Armour
Founder, StageSight Senior Director, Berkeley Group
Julian Bird Tali Shlomo
Chief Executive, UK Theatre Inclusion and Diversity Consultant Vice President EMEA
David Lan
Former Artistic Director, Young Vic Observing:
Michele Taylor
Director for Change, Ramps on the Moon Alex Pleasants
Grace Francis Co-Secretariat, APPG
Founder, DramEd Joanna Abeyie
Stella Kanu Co-Secretariat, APPG and Founder, Blue Moon
Chair, Eclipse Theatre

186 CREATIVE MAJORITY APPENDIX 187

Dave O’Brien
Research Adviser, APPG and Chancellor’s Fellow,
University of Edinburgh
Natalie Wreyford
Research Fellow, APPG and King’s College London
Tamsyn Dent
Research Fellow, King’s College London
Jenny Butterfield
Masters Student, University of Edinburgh

ROUNDTABLE 10: PUBLISHING, 21ST APRIL 2021

Chair: Baroness Deborah Bull

Co-chair of APPG for Creative Diversity

Contributors:

Richie Booker
Diversity and Belonging Lead, Hearst Europe
Farhana Sheikh
Publisher, Dahlia Books
Katy Shaw
Professor, Northumbria University
Claire Malcolm
New Writing North
Kit de Waal
Author, and Editor, Common People
Eloise Cook
Publisher, Pearson
Ruth Harrison and Bobby Nayyar
Director and Programme Manager, Spread the Word

Observing:

Alex Pleasants
Co-Secretariat, APPG
Joanna Abeyie
Co-Secretariat, APPG and Founder, Blue Moon
Dave O’Brien
Research Adviser, APPG and Chancellor’s Fellow,
University of Edinburgh
Natalie Wreyford
Research Fellow, APPG and King’s College London
Tamsyn Dent
Research Fellow, King’s College London
Jenny Butterfield
Master’s Student, University of Edinburgh

188 CREATIVE MAJORITY

An All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)
for Creative Diversity report into ‘What Works’
to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion
in the creative sector.

Supported by: