The Creative industries are failing to make use of the diverse talent that exists in the UK.
Consequently, there are growing concerns that the opportunities created in this vibrant part of the UK economy are ‘out of reach’ for many and that in some creative sectors and occupations the profile of the workforce looks dramatically different to the UK population.
Despite the success of the creative industries, the sector is not adequately making use of the full potential of the total working population, and the creative industries workforce is therefore not sufficiently diverse (HM Government 2018; Creative Industries Council 2015; Skills Development Scotland 2015, EHRC 2016).
Across the UK’s creative industries, 37% of employment is comprised of women (compared to the all industry average of 47% of the UK workforce) with female representation lowest in IT, software and computer services (21%) and architecture (34%) (DCMS 2019) ; and in visual effects (UK Screen Alliance 2019).
Although at a headline level, the ethnic profile of the UK creative workforce is broadly in line with all industries, the picture is varies considerably between different sub-sectors, where for example IT, the largest creative sub-sector, is an area where those from ethnic minority backgrounds comprise around one third of the workforce. Similarly, recent research by the UK
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Screen Alliance found that those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds comprise 19% of the workforce in VFX and 18% in post-production (UK Screen Alliance 2019).
The overall profile is also heavily affected by the geographical concentration of the creative industries - with much of the sector concentrated in ethnically diverse London (Creative and Cultural Skills 2019; Oakley et al 2017).
Those with a disability are also underrepresented (comprising 11% of the creative industries workforce compared to 13% of the UK workforce) (DCMS 2019); and there is also a persistent underrepresentation of working class background; particularly in publishing, film, TV and radio, music, performing and visual arts (Create London 2018; O’Brien et al 2016). Furthermore, the Arts Council England (2018b) noted that people with disabilities are underrepresented in senior positions, and the first cut of data from Project Diamond which measures diversity of programmes commissioned by five major broadcasters, found that just 5.5% of off-screen contributions were made by those with a disability (Creative Diversity Network 2017).
Even when minority groups are successful in ‘getting in’ to the industry; they face substantial barriers to ‘getting on’; with evidence of pay gaps and a lack of diverse talent in senior and key creative roles (see for example: Gill, 2014; Arts Council England, 2018a; O’Brien, 2016;
Figure 2.9: Diversity in the UK creative industries
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Harvey and Shepherd 2016; EHRC 2016 Directors UK, 2018; Friedman et al, 2017; UK Screen Alliance 2019).
Studies have shown that there are pervasive gender pay gaps in nearly every industry, and that women often do not progress as quickly in their careers as do men. Furthermore, they encounter more barriers than their male counterparts in maintaining and progressing their careers (Gill, 2014; Eikhof et al, 2018; Next Gen Skills Academy, 2015; Bookseller, 2018). In the UK tech industry, 35% of women surveyed in 2018 and early 2019 felt their gender had negatively affected their career progression (BIMA, 2019).
The reasons behind these trends are multi-faceted. Research by the Arts Council England found that barriers for disabled people include physical access; attitudes towards disability;
inaccessible training provisions; recruitment practices; workin g culture; lack of role models and the ‘trap’ of benefits and lack of support.
Others argue that hiring is often a form of ‘cultural matching’ (Rivera 2015, Koppman 2016), meaning those who do not reflect the existing makeup of creative jobs are less likely to be hired. Additionally, the use of informal and formal networks in recruitment for projects and jobs can act to further undermine the ability of
minority groups to access employment opportunities (Work Foundation / BFI 2016).
Unpaid internships and the propensity for freelance work and portfolio careers can act to deter or exclude those that are not subsidised by parental support and lack the financial resources to self-fund during their early career (Sutton Trust 2018). Furthermore, the geographical clustering of creative opportunities in the South East and London, where the cost of living is much higher than in the rest of the country and which, additionally makes it more difficult for individuals from low income backgrounds compared with middle or high income backgrounds to bear (Friedman l 2016)
“People who have already experienced disadvantage faces face further barriers
to getting in and progressing”
“The industry has woken up to the fact it is very pale, male and stale. I’m hoping that the efforts we’re putting in now will lead to
real change”
“There is lots going such as unconscious bias training, inclusive recruitment and transparency around pay. But ultimately
it’s about having genuinely inclusive workplaces - what does that look like in
practice? “
Quotes from industry consultees, May / June 2019
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Ultimately, the lack of diversity in the creative industries acts to undermine the future success of the creative industries in a number of ways. For instance, a diverse workforce acts to maximise the
“personalisation” or “identification” potential of the audience with those working in the sector and hence to enhance the relevance or appeal of the products and services. There is also increasing recognition that diversity can be understood as
“cognitive difference” which can help foster innovation and help escape group think (de Vaan et al, 2015). Further, recruiting from a relatively more limited pool of talent only serves to exacerbate the significant skill shortages impacting the creative industries (Work Foundation / BFI 2016; Arts Council Northern Ireland 2013).