A lot of people ask me where to start with their #newwaysofworking journey. The answer is often frustrating to hear – there is no ‘one right way’ – sorry! It is something that teams need to figure out for themselves and build on through constant experimentation, doing more of what works, and less of what doesn’t. You are closest to the information, so I cannot tell you where is best to begin, nor can anyone else.
What I can share with you are the patterns found in progressive organisations, and this is what I’ll do with my new series: Do try this at work. I’ll be sharing just one at a time, with the hope that you give it a go in your team before the next newsletter arrives in your inbox. First up we have the wonderful circle meetings which are a definite favourite of mine (and the perfect training wheels for consent decision-making!).
Imagine a meeting with no interruptions and no one voice dominating… 😍 Well, you don’t have to imagine…
There is a pretty broad consensus that most meetings are a drag at best and a waste of time at worst – it needn’t be this way! Circle meetings offer us an alternative and are super simple. They teach us to become better listeners and to be more vulnerable. Vulnerability requires candour, and people trust this. Good relationships are built on trust, and circle meetings help us to build this. You’ll hear less from the usual suspects and more from the quieter voices, whose fab ideas and contributions will surprise you.
Given that most of us are fed up with meetings, most groups are open to trying a new meeting structure when it’s suggested. So pop a brave pill (I know this is scary stuff!) and try a few circles meetings where you work. I bet you’ll be surprised by how powerful such a simple structure is.
The more you talking you do in meetings, the more you need to try these!
Below, you’ll find step by step instructions on how to hold a circle meeting and underneath those, you’ll find an awesome how-to video demo created by my friend Tim Shand.
I’d love to hear what you notice after trying these in your team. And don’t forget to ask your team what they noticed after using the circle meeting structure. If their feedback is positive – and I’m sure it will be – then do more!
Good luck! And head here to signup for receiving these by email: https://newwaysofworking.substack.com/
Launching in May 2022, YOU. is a unique community leadership programme designed to support young changemakers and business leaders in the creative industries through peer-to-peer coaching.
YOU / Culture & Creativity is one of two industry specific cohorts launching on 5th May. The programme runs over 8 weeks with all participants learning coaching skills together, combined with real-world leadership experience by coaching and being coached to support each other’s individual challenges.
The commitment is only 2 hours per week to attend online group coach training sessions with an additional 1 hour for peer to peer mentoring sessions arranged at your convenience.
Peer to peer mentoring ‘pairs’ (one business leader matched with one young changemaker) will provide a positive space for mutual learning to practise and refine coaching skills and support each other’s individual challenges and opportunities.
The programme is being delivered by Tomorrow and North Somerset Enterprise Agency, with all places fully funded through the UK Community Renewal Fund.
CHANGEMAKERS. Young people (18-35yrs) who are looking to make a change. Maybe explore a business idea, learn skills to develop a creative project in their community and currently living in communities in the North Somerset region.
ORGANISATIONS. Employees who are purpose-led leaders, managers or supervisors who are looking to improve their leadership skills with the tools to adopt a coaching approach in their work.
We are looking for 15 creative leaders who are looking to make a positive impact in their organisation or team culture; and 15 creative young changemakers who are exploring future creative careers.
In a rapidly changing world, entrepreneurs, changemakers and leaders of the future will need to be able to coach. Coaching skills form a valuable part of any leader’s repertoires of management tools, aiding effective working relationships with diverse teams and individuals. A coaching approach can enhance performance, improve working relationships and develop communications skills for the benefit of any future leader.
So, if you are an individual who is looking to break into the creative industries; or you are a business within this sector, looking to make a positive change, this programme is designed for you.
For full details, to contact us or apply now via www.youbethechange.co.uk
Inequalities in the UK arts and cultural sector have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and lessons must be urgently learnt, a new report has claimed.
In what is described as one of the world’s largest investigations into the impact of COVID-19 on the cultural industries, the Centre for Cultural Value said “the impact of the pandemic has aggravated and accelerated existing inequalities and longer term trends across the arts and cultural sector”.
The report found that the impact on the sector’s workforce was not experienced evenly with individuals already under-represented more likely to leave cultural jobs in 2020. Younger workers, women and people from ethnically diverse backgrounds were among the hardest hit in terms of lost work and income.
Freelancers also suffered significantly, the report found. They constituted 62% of the core-creative workforce before the pandemic and only 52% by the end of 2020.
Researchers acknowledged that the Cultural Recovery Fund was crucial for ensuring the survival of cultural organisations, but they were critical of the funding for not reaching all affected freelancers, despite them making up the majority of the arts and cultural workforce.
“Perhaps the most significant finding from our study is…that we need to better understand the vital role that freelancers play in the cultural industries,” the report said.
“Our research has highlighted the need to identify freelance cultural workers in a much more robust and nuanced way so that we can map the sector more accurately and appreciate its complex infrastructure.”
Such an approach, it said, would ensure freelancers do not fall between the gaps in emergency support during any future crisis.
The pandemic saw a huge increase in digital content as cultural organisations that were forced to close turned to the internet to share performances and art collections.
This made content cheaper and more accessible but the report found it failed to significantly diversify audiences with roughly the same type of people engaging with cultural content as before the pandemic.
A digital approach did transform the experiences of many people with an established interest in the arts though, especially disabled audiences and older people living away from major urban centres.
The pandemic also made organisations rethink the way they engage with local communities by communicating through social media when closed and continuing a hybrid approach after reopening. It paid off for some with increased footfall from the immediate area and more spending per head at certain venues.
The crisis also highlighted the key role culture plays in the UK economy. “The importance of the cultural and creative sectors to animate and stimulate night-time economies and town and city centre high streets was keenly felt, and cultural investment was made a key priority for the first round of ‘Levelling Up’ funds and in many locally led recovery plans,” the report said.
In addition, schools and community groups benefitted from the shift by museums, galleries and theatres to local engagement and social media initiatives such as the #CultureInQuarantine and #MuseumAtHome campaigns attracted thousands of people. “In general, audiences were most drawn to content that privileged empathy, intimacy, community, locality and nature,” the study found.
Another positive was the value of culture for wellbeing. The majority of audiences believed digital culture had a positive effect on their mood and managing anxiety, while most people who increased their digital engagement during lockdown intend to continue doing so.
The report said these developments show that digital is worth investing in for cultural organisations. However, to have a positive impact and reach diverse audiences, it advised that online content must be “embedded in a long-term strategy of audience and school engagement”.
The research said networks played a key role in supporting the cultural sector through the crisis. Organisations came together to find solidarity, co-discover new ways of working, find new business models and lobby policymakers for additional support.
Networks can build long-term resilience, the study added, but it warned “there is a real risk that this effective mode of working, which briefly united what is traditionally a fragmented sector, might disappear post-pandemic without targeted support”.
The report warned that the UK’s cultural sector is “at an inflection point and facing imminent burnout alongside significant skills and workforce gaps”. As a result, “regenerative modes of working” need to be “urgently” adopted, it said.
“This approach would carve out time for all of the positive initiatives that we witnessed across the cultural sector during the pandemic: revisioning and restrategising, professional and network development, reflection and evaluation, play and innovation.
“But regenerative models involve sacrifices: less producing and production, less product and income, less hidden labour and overworking, less solipsism and introspection. This vision can only be realised if the cultural sector keeps working together as a joined-up ecosystem and doesn’t rupture at the seams.”
We’re the membership network uniting Bristol and Bath’s creative industries behind a common cause, driven by the belief that we can achieve more collectively than alone. Join as a member and benefit from industry expertise, training, leads, curated news, kudos and more.
Having worked closely with the Epilepsy Society for the past few months, we’re delighted to announce the launch of unFlash, an AI-powered tool that detects and helps prevent the spread of flashing images on social media that in turn could trigger seizures.
The first-of-its-kind plug-in allows specific users to report examples of flashing images that appear on their Twitter feed, which are then captured as part of a dataset used to train a Machine Learning model.
unFlash’s aim is to eventually teach the AI how to effectively detect and block media that falls within the photosensitive range. This would prevent harmful imagery with the potential of triggering a seizure in people with photosensitive epilepsy from being shared online.
“Social media is a global platform, and the only true way to protect people from seizure-triggering content is to turn off the tap at its source. That’s why we are so grateful to the team at Gravitywell for their commitment to developing unFlash. We are hopeful for what the AI can contribute to the protection of people with epilepsy online.
However, small companies such as Gravitywell who have donated their time to protect people should not burden the responsibility of protecting Twitter’s users; the social media giants must be held accountable for protecting vulnerable people with disabilities on their platforms.” — Epilepsy Society
What’s the purpose?
It can be hard to find meaning in what you do.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a digital strategist, a dog walker, a traffic warden, or a chef. If you don’t feel connected to your work – if you don’t feel a sense of purpose – it can be hard to stay engaged or committed.
Purpose is a big deal right now. The advertising and marketing industries have been accused of reckless greenwashing, in a bid for products and services to appear more appealing. They’ve been accused of promoting overconsumption and wastefulness. It’s even been said that we’re driving the climate crisis.
And at Proctors, we’re not blind to those concerns. (It’s why we’re so selective with our own campaigns, clients and partners.)
But we’re also firm believers in the merit of our own, ‘personal’ purpose. A purpose which is as simple as helping others, by using our time, talent and resources wherever possible to create a better world.
So we do this by giving back to our communities: whether local, global or simply like-minded. From sponsoring the local Easton women’s football team, to running the annual South West Design + Digital Student Awards, to ensuring our office is eco-friendly and self-sustainable, and by fundraising for chosen local charities.
Because for us, our Corporate Social Responsibility is just another part of our work. And we treat it with the seriousness and dedication it deserves.
Raising money for cancer research, Business Beats Cancer West of England
Our Founder and Chairman, Roger Proctor MBE, is passionate about ensuring Proctor + Stevenson do our part.
As a board member for Business Beats Cancer West of England (BBCWoE) – Cancer Research UK’s Business-facing arm in the region – Roger offers both our services and the personal commitment of Proctors employees to their cause.
Throughout our partnership with BBCWoE, we’ve created awareness campaigns complete with copy, design and marketing support, and assisted with event promotions year-round. And, of course, we got stuck in to raise some of those all-important funds ourselves.
Firstly, we took part in ‘The Big Hike,’ where a group of brave Proctorians hiked 26.5 miles through the Brecon Beacons on a beautiful, brisk Saturday, raising an impressive £1,832 for cancer research.
As if that wasn’t enough, even more Proctorians then took on ‘The Big Ride Cycle Challenge’ – a 79.2-mile loop starting from our offices in Easton and continuing through Cheddar Gorge, Wells, and the surrounding areas. With thighs of steel, our amazing team raised another £815 – a storming success.
If you’re a friend of Proctors, you’ll know every Christmas we create a ‘Christmas Card video’, treating our clients, friends, and family to a behind-the-scenes look at our team which will lift spirits and spread a little hilarity, too.
But when the COVID-19 saw us all locked down last year, the team agreed we should do something different.
We took a step away from the dressing up and hijinks, and instead approached a local charity to offer some help instead.
Caring in Bristol are a local charity working towards an incredible goal: to end homelessness in Bristol, for good. But during the pandemic homelessness tripled in Bristol, reflecting a nationwide trend. And it left the team with an even bigger task ahead.
So, our incredibly talented team of animators, copywriters and our marketing team got to work to produce a video which would get Bristolians digging deep for the cause.
The result? More than £20,000 of donations in just under two weeks, absolutely crashing through the Caring in Bristol team’s targets – and deservedly so.
It goes without saying, but the entire Proctors team was so proud of what we achieved for such a brilliant cause. So much so, you may want to watch this space…
If you’re an aspiring Philanthropist, looking for a cause to get stuck into, or are a charitable cause looking for support, Quartet Community Foundation are your answer.
They bring people together who want to work on community projects in the west of England, supporting hundreds of thousands of people through local frontline charities and voluntary groups.
We’ve been working with the team at Quartet for years, and have developed real, personal friendships with them. So when we heard they had begun a Coronavirus 2020 relief fund, we wanted to help in any way we could – which, as it turns out, meant hosting a virtual ‘Quarantine Quiz’!
We used the quiz to raise money for the foundation – and along the way, we experienced a real boost to our own morale too.
Babbasa are a Bristol-based organisation who work with young people, businesses, and the local community to address inequality in all its forms, and produce a fairer city. They offer advice on recruitment policies, and work with organisations to explain how they can diversify their workforce, as well as providing potential candidates.
So we partnered with them to get their advice on our own recruitment policy, to ensure we’re doing everything we can to create an inclusive culture – and actively work towards creating a fairer city.
Purpose is what you make it
Whoever you are, and wherever you work, it’s important to feel you’re doing the things that align with your values.
And at Proctors, we do that by ‘doing good’ and giving back wherever we can.
As you’ll see, it’s not all about big, transformative gestures. But about the things we can all do as a team to make the world just a little bit brighter.
So we’ll carry on doing what we can by working closely alongside charities and organisations to help those in need – both locally and further afield. We’ll continue to ensure we’re cultivating a sustainable office environment, and remain a place where employees feel valued and appreciated for their hard work.
To see more of what Proctor + Stevenson are involved in, have a look at our CSR page on our website. Or if you’d like to do some good of your own, contact us at [email protected].
Over the past few years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of brands demonstrating their social stance. And today, these brands are choosing to buy their media from a diverse range of creators and ethical sources.
However, businesses are under pressure to show they are a brand of integrity and fear their advertisements might feature next to other content that could be detrimental to their reputation.
Brand integrity is of the utmost importance. 54% of consumers said they would think negatively of a brand that runs ads alongside content designed by others whose morals don’t align with theirs.
You can see why brand safety is such a hot topic in marketing, and this is especially apparent in the programmatic world.
If you’re unsure of what brand safety includes, it essentially encompasses all the measures advertisers implement to protect their brand from the potential backlash they could face by running ads next to harmful content.
Over-blocking content can actually be doing more harm than good. A vast majority of businesses still adopt a cut-throat approach when it comes to protecting their brand’s reputation.
However, this overprotective approach has led to a great proportion of content being excluded, even when it’s safe and suitable for your brand. We’ve seen this happen in many negative keyword lists and blocklists.
Industry-standard blocklists contain a vast array of terms related to race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. So, it’s clear to see that…
“Industry standard advertising practices [are] unfairly penalizing content creators within various groups, including the LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and API communities, as well as content relating to important aspects of the human experience, including social issues, mental health and wellness, and identity.”
[Taken from Channel Factory, Conscious Project, 2021]
In 2019, CHEQ’s ‘How Keyword Blacklists are Killing Reach and Monetization’ report looked at what type of content has been excluded from an industry-standard blacklist of 2000 keywords.
The report found that 57% of articles that were safe, were incorrectly flagged and blocked from serving ads. This was taking place because brands had been using overprotective negative keyword lists and blocklists.
These lists are incredibly harmful to creators and publishers, as they are unable to monetise their own content.
Other statistics the CHEQ study uncovered included:
Most companies do not update blocklists regularly, which is why a great deal of suitable content is deemed harmful.
Times are changing and have been changing quite drastically over the past few years. Our lists of negative keywords may have been necessary in 2017, but today they could be absolutely pointless.
Unfortunately, these outdated blocklists are harming marginalised communities across the globe, which is unfair, to say the least.
And this is a problem that needs urgent attention from our industry.
This overwhelming fear has led brands into the trap of unethical exclusion. What we mean by this is that brands and agencies are blocking all content related to marginalised groups and communities.
Therefore, content related to gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, social issues, identity (to name a few) should be monetised.
Positioning yourself in the market as a diverse and inclusive business has never been more important. Today, 60% of consumers prefer to associate themselves with companies that actively show they are committed to creating an online experience that is inclusive for all.
Of course, it’s important to focus our attention on brand safety. But as an industry, we need to think of new ways to implement brand safety without excluding creators based on their sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity.
This new approach needs to be one that can monetise positive content, which will, in turn, benefit the wider society.
Your blocklists and negative keywords need to be tailored to your brand and checked frequently. Don’t just keep adding new words, remove the unnecessary ones.
It’s always worth checking over your brand safety processes. You can then remodel a new brand strategy that encourages inclusivity.
You should always search for and connect with brands and creators that share your values. Once you have added them to your whitelist, they can assist in the monetisation of positive and inclusive content.
Working with a third-party brand safety and brand suitability partner can help with your brand safety measures. These third-party partners usually opt for human input, which ensures content is categorised with diversity in mind.
As an industry, we need to get embrace the needed changes to brand safety measures to ensure we are not excluding words, phrases, or languages that could exclude minority groups.
All voices should be represented in your content, not just a select few. By monetising your content, you can create new and improved content, which highlights diverse and marginalised communities.
It’s time you move forward with your approaches to brand safety because when you do, you will be actively creating an online world that promotes positivity and inclusivity.
The Social Mobility Commission (SEC) has launched a new sector-specific toolkit to encourage socio-economic diversity and inclusion in the creative sector workforce.
It aims to widen access to the creative industries for people from working class backgrounds in an attempt to tackle a “class crisis” in the sector.
The socio-economic diversity and inclusion: toolkit for the creative industries, developed by the Social Mobility Commission in partnership with creative industries businesses, offers practical support and guidance to creative employers on how to identify and remove invisible barriers that arise at every stage of the employee journey.
According to new research, just 27% of the creative industries workforce comes from a working class background, compared with 39% of the wider UK workforce. For the advertising and marketing and music and performing arts sub-sectors, the percentage of the workforce from a working class background falls to just 23%.
The SEC said that “the unique structures of the creative industries workforce are driving this imbalance, with factors including the high numbers of ‘professional’ jobs within the sector, an entrenched reliance on freelance workers as well as an abundance of unpaid internships creating additional barriers to entry for those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
“Disproportionate numbers of those in senior roles who attended private school or Oxbridge may also have served to perpetuate understandings of cultural ‘fit’ and accepted behavioural codes within the creative industries, presenting an additional barrier to those from low socio-economic backgrounds.”
Those who have contributed or endorsed the toolkit include the BBC, BFI, UK Screen Alliance, Youth Music British Fashion Council, Museums Association, British Institute of Interior Design and the Publishers Association.
Culture secretary Nadine Dorries said:
“A working class background should never be a barrier to a successful career in the creative Industries. We want to increase access to opportunities across the board as part of our plan to level up. This new toolkit will help support creative firms become more inclusive and give people the chance to forge a successful career in these exciting sectors.”
Caroline Norbury, CEO at Creative Industries Federation, said:
“If creativity is to shape a better future for all, then it has to reflect the diversity and breadth of experience found across the country. Ensuring opportunities exist for creative individuals to thrive, no matter their background, is an important step towards achieving this. The Social Mobility Commission’s toolkit is a critical resource for addressing the unacceptable imbalance of socio-economic backgrounds found in the UK’s creative industries.”
Farrah Storr, social mobility commissioner and editor-in-chief at Elle UK, said:
“It’s been great to see so many within the industry collaborate on the development of this toolkit. For the whole creative sector to remain vibrant, it is vital that we tap into the full potential of the whole population, not just a privileged few.
“The creative industries create the culture of the nation, which in turn necessitates full participation from the entire nation. As organisations adopt the actions set out within this toolkit to make socio-economic inclusion a reality, we will become an industry that is both rich in diverse viewpoints, experiences and stories as well as an industry that is built to last.”
Heather Carey from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and Work Advance said:
“As we rebuild following the Covid-19 pandemic, it is vital that we widen access to opportunities created in high-growth, high-skill parts of the UK economy, like the Creative Industries. Our research provides definitive evidence on the causes of class imbalances and sets out an ambitious and wide-ranging programme of change to enhance social mobility into the Creative Economy. Government and Industry must seize this moment, as we emerge from an unprecedented crisis, to address the long-standing inequalities in the Creative sector and to grasp the potential offered by diverse talent in the UK to cement our creative excellence and competitive advantage, globally.”
The Social Mobility Commission is hosting a public launch event on Monday 11 October, chaired by Farrah Storr, SMC commissioner and editor-in-chief of Elle, and featuring a discussion with industry insiders: Jamie Gill, CEO of ROKSANDA and executive board, British Fashion Council; Della Hill, creative lead at Literature Wales and Emily Jones, senior producer at Sage Gateshead. Register for the event at SocialMobilityWorks.org
Heather Carey will present the findings of PEC’s new research report: Social mobility in the creative economy: Rebuilding and levelling up?
Bristol Technology Festival (BTF) has unveiled a packed schedule for its tech showcase event, taking place during the week of October 11-15.
Now into its third edition, BTF is an annual celebration designed to bring together events, people and communities to share, learn and explore technology developments in the southwest region. Events will encompass a range of sectors from green and sustainable technology to legal and finance.
This year’s schedule includes a number of highly anticipated events, of which there are more than 50 spread across five packed days.
The theme which wraps around many of the events through the week is ‘changing the face of tech’, with the emphasis on taking tangible action beyond simply talking about a lack of diversity and inclusion. As well as demonstrating the best of what the area’s tech space has to offer, BTF 2021 aims to bring together like-minded organisations ready to inspire wide-reaching change.
It is not too late to get involved. For individuals and organisations interested in attending or hosting an event, there is still time to book tickets and submit proposals.
Softcat headlines busy BTF 2021
BTF 2021 would like to thank Headline Partner Softcat for its indispensable support of BTF 2021.
Looking ahead to the event, Rob Parkinson, CIO at Softcat, commented: “We are delighted to be involved in the 2021 Bristol Technology Festival. Bringing together local technology communities and shining a light on all the innovation the region has to showcase is an important way to drive collaboration and industry growth.
“The last 18 months have been tough for many industries, but technology has come through as an enabler and has made many re-think how they interact and do business. As the impact of technology continues to grow, forums like the Bristol Technology Festival have never been more important and we are pleased to be supporting it.”
Event organisers are also grateful to Deloitte for sponsoring the Bristol Technology Festival Launch Event, on Thursday October 7 which will be held at Engine Shed.
Here, the exclusive launch evening will be a chance for senior leaders and technology influencers from across the region to network, share ideas and see each other in person, with speaker contributions coming from the likes of Moneyhub, Deloitte and Softcat.
Changing the face of tech
Among the many highlights of this year’s festival is a fireside keynote chat with Antonia Forster.
Antonia is a Unity/C# games and software developer, specialising in immersive experiences such as AR, VR and XR. In 2017, her record-breaking TEDxBristol talk was delivered to a live audience of 2,000 people and has since gained over 92,000 views online.
A year later, Antonia was nominated and shortlisted for Nature’s John Maddox Prize, in recognition of her work as an LGBTQ+ speaker and activist. She has also been named one of Bristol’s Top Nine “Women to Watch” in STEM, and has appeared in numerous magazine, radio and television features.
The talk with Antonia is scheduled for Monday October 11th, 12:00-14:00, at Engine Shed.
It is expected to be one of many events held throughout the week that inspire both more women to pursue careers in the tech sector, and organisations to provide greater opportunities and promote diversity.
What else to expect at BTF 2021
Diversity is the name of the game when it comes to the group of volunteers helping to coordinate the festival.
Among them are representatives from Hargreaves Lansdown, Newicon, TechSPARK, and Engine Shed, with events throughout BTF being crowdsourced from organisations across the city of Bristol.
These include tech companies, public bodies, schools, community interest groups and charities, with events open to a huge variety of guests – from tech professionals and businesses to individuals wanting to know more about the area’s digital industries.
Between them, a huge variety of discussions and other activities will be open to attendees:
This year’s Bristol Technology Festival will also witness the launch of the Festival Community Partner initiative. Here, businesses have the opportunity to become one of 50 community partners, with all funds invested helping to secure the long-term future of the festival.
For more information and to view the schedule for BTF 2021, visit www.bristoltechfest.org
To submit an event proposal, complete the form here.
Workforces in the creative industries are at risk of becoming more unequal unless efforts are made to improve diversity and inclusion.
That’s the warning by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity following an 18-month research project with King’s College London and the University of Edinburgh.
The resulting report, Creative Majority, publishes a framework of five guiding principles which it says will lead to immediate and long-lasting change. It also makes a series of recommendations to the government and businesses.
The UK’s creative industries remain unrepresentative of the population as a whole, the report says.
Straight, able-bodied, white men living in London are only 3.5% of the UK population, it highlights, but “this small minority still dominates the creative sector, and in particular occupy a vast number of the most senior creative roles”.
Chi Onwurah MP, co-chair of the APPG for Creative Diversity, said the coronavirus pandemic has deepened this issue with fewer creative organisations and job opportunities for diverse talent.
Disabled people, younger workers, those not engaged in higher education and mothers are among the employees hardest hit by the pandemic. Individuals from a minoritised racial group have also been hit hard. Employment in the arts and entertainment sectors for women in those groups has fallen by 44%, more than any other group in any industry.
“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,” Onwurah warned.
As part of the research, roundtables were conducted to gather evidence about diversity and inclusion in the creative industries. Among those participating were Sam Friedman, associate professor of sociology at London School of Economics and commissioner at the Social Mobility Commission, who said:
“In most of these industries there’s a kind of historical legacy of who’s done this kind of work in the past and how they’ve been able to embed, even institutionalise, their own ways of being that still, in the present, are able to shape taken-for-granted ideas about who is appropriate to promote and progress, and that’s basically the legacy of white, privileged men in this country 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, people from privileged backgrounds but also this is hugely racialised and gendered, around acceptable ways of being in the workplace.”
Robert Adediran, EDI consultant and former executive director at London Music Masters, said:
“There’s a strong sense that everyone who is at the top is there because they are the best people for the role and that’s very damaging because it prevents us from looking for talent elsewhere.
“In music, particularly classical, there’s a sense that the art form has reached a pinnacle, that it could not possibly get any better than it already is. Again, that is very dangerous because it robs one of the key drivers for diversity and inclusion, which is to make the art form better. There isn’t the drive to bring new people in to change things and to push a more creative output or a better creative output.”
Miranda Wayland, BBC head of creative diversity, said:
“We can’t really be effective until we tackle the question of what ‘good’ really looks like. I can sit here and come up with different metrics about how diversity of thought and diversity of inclusion in our recruitment practices are really at the heart of it, but if those people who are making decisions aren’t really thinking about what good looks like, no initiative, no scheme, no target that we’ve all been imbedded in supporting over the last 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.”
The report said the creative industries have many lessons to learn from how society has adapted to big changes in the way people work.
Working from home, collaborating remotely and new safety measures show that “change, on a massive scale, is possible in a short time frame”, the report said. “The same momentum now needs to be applied to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).”
The report publishes five principles as a framework for good and effective practice that it says should act as benchmarks for anyone wanting to see results in EDI.
The five principles are:
Read more detail about the framework in the full report.
The report also makes a series of recommendations to policymakers and creative organisations.
It says: “This report represents a challenge and represents a demand. It offers a chance for policymakers, along with organisations and businesses, to step up and to lead.
“We need bold and visionary leadership to support diversity in the creative economy. As our report shows, the challenges are great. Yet, bold and visionary leadership will reap the rewards of a diverse workforce and audience. It is a challenge to which we need policymakers to rise.”
The recommendations to government include:
The recommendations to creative industry businesses and organisations include:
This event is a practical series of five virtual sessions to set you on the right track with your diversity & inclusion (D&I) efforts. It will help you make sense of what D&I means for your business, why it matters, and how to turn the conversation into action. You’ll get insights, tools and techniques to help you overcome any fears and obstacles, before starting to develop a plan.
The first session has already taken place but book the remaining four sessions by 9.30am on 6 October and you’ll be sent a recording of the first session along with the presentation slides.
Sign up here. Bristol Creative Industries members get £75 off the ticket price.
What is inclusive marketing?
Inclusive marketing happens when companies represent the diverse communities they’re serving. It’s simple, really. When you speak to all your target audience, you aren’t just “doing your bit,” you’re boosting your business. Extending your reach and more customers will buy. And your ROI? You better believe that’s going right up.
Not convinced?
Here are just a few stats that show why inclusive marketing deserves your attention:
Remember that all-important Millennial market? 77 per cent of them favour brands that are inclusive
The LGBTQIA market spends £6 billion a year and are willing to switch to more inclusive brands
Consumers from ethnically diverse communities in the UK have £300 billion a year to spend and rising.
Find out more about inclusive marketing on our blog
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