Press release: Just 16% of people in creative jobs are from working class backgrounds and those from privileged backgrounds more likely to shape what goes on stage, page and screen

Research on class imbalances across creative sector & programme of work for a more inclusive sector

– New research from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) highlights class imbalances across the UK’s creative industries

– The PEC will lead a programme of work to promote a more diverse and inclusive creative sector

New research(1) from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) shows widespread class imbalances in the UK’s Creative Industries. Only 16% of people in creative jobs are from working class backgrounds, compared to almost a third of all workers from these origins. People from privileged backgrounds are more than twice as likely to land a job in the industry.

The creative industries are one of the UK’s greatest success stories and a driver of economic growth and jobs, however the sector suffers structural weaknesses that are likely to worsen during the pandemic. This study provides an up-to-date picture of workforce demographics, with baseline data to rebuild a more inclusive and diverse creative sector.

The research further showed that people from privileged backgrounds are more likely to:

Experience autonomy in their work and working hours
Have supervisory responsibility
Progress into managerial positions
Dominate key creative roles in the sector, shaping what goes on stage, page and screen. For example, this is the case for:
- Authors and writers (59% are from privileged backgrounds)
- Journalists, newspaper and periodical editors (58%)
- Programmers and software development professionals (54%)
- Arts officers, producers and directors (54%)

The study also highlights a ‘double disadvantage’ in securing a creative job for women, those from minority ethnic backgrounds, those with a disability, or with low skill levels. For instance, working class women are almost five times less likely to secure a creative job than men from privileged backgrounds, and working class people with a disability are more than three times less likely than privileged people without a disability. Those from a privileged background and qualified to degree-level or above are five and a half times as likely to secure a creative role than those of working-class background and skilled to GCSE-level.

Despite increasing action to promote inclusion in the sector by government and industry, the likelihood of someone from a working class background finding creative work remains largely unchanged over the past five years (17.6% of people in creative roles were of working class background in 2014 compared to 16.2% today).

Over the next two years, the PEC will lead a programme of work to catalyse collaborative action led by industry, trade bodies, wider stakeholders and Government. It will test and trial new policy, programmes and practices that promote a more diverse and inclusive creative economy and will show leadership as an industry on the vital issue of social mobility in the UK.

As part of this work, the PEC will be undertake ‘deep-dives’ into specific sub-sectors and occupations in the creative economy to: develop rich insight and hear real-life stories; surface the distinct circumstances and challenges evident in particular parts of the sector; and explore what policy, programmes and practices might work best in these areas. The first ‘deep-dive’ will focus on the UK screen industries, in partnership with ScreenSkills, the skills body for UK’s screen industries. The research will be UK-wide and will also work with wider industry stakeholders including Pact, British Film Institute, UK Screen Alliance, Access VFX, Animation UK, and Screen Industries Growth Network-Yorkshire.

Heather Carey, Co-Investigator at the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and Director of Work Advance, said:

“Through this work we want to catalyse collaborative action – led by industry, trade bodies, wider stakeholders and Government – to test and trial new policy, programmes and practices that promote inclusion in the Creative Industries; to show leadership as an industry on the vital issue of social mobility in the UK. Even before COVID-19, the industry was recognising a need to address these issues, and the pandemic has in many ways only served to emphasise the vulnerabilities such practices create. As we look to rebuild the sector, now is the time to consider how we can address long-standing structural weaknesses. We need to consider how we can build a more inclusive creative economy and how we can unlock the potential of the creative sector to support recovery and promote greater social mobility.”

Seetha Kumar, CEO of ScreenSkills, said: “Even before the COVID pandemic, there were growing concerns about social mobility in the screen industries where those from privileged backgrounds appear more likely to succeed than those who are not. However, we do not know enough about class and social background in film and television and how they influence career progression which was why we wanted to be a partner in the new more detailed investigation into the issue.

“As we rebuild the industry after the coronavirus lockdown, we will use the light shed by this new research on the important issue of background – and how that intersects with other issues such as ethnicity, disability and gender – to identify what more we can do to unblock barriers and unlock the potential of a greater diversity of talent.”

Read the summary of key findings and the full report: ‘Getting in and getting on: class, participation and job quality in the UK creative industries’.

-Ends-

Press contact: Anna Zabow, Communications Manager of the PEC. 07713 619077 / anna.zabow@nesta.org.uk

Notes to Editors

1. This research includes new analysis of the most recent Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Understanding Society (US) data, which contain information about parental occupation, current occupation of employment and indicators concerning job and working patterns; as well as subjective measures of autonomy, satisfaction and wellbeing. To understand the class composition of the creative workforce, the authors consider parental occupation when respondents were aged 14. This is used to place an individual’s class origin within the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC), which is subsequently collapsed into three classes.

2. One of the authors of the report, Heather Carey (Co-Investigator at the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and Director of Work Advance) is available for media interviews.

About the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC)

The Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) works to support the growth of the UK’s Creative Industries through the production of independent and authoritative evidence and policy advice.

Led by Nesta and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy, the Centre comprises of a consortium of universities from across the UK (Birmingham; Cardiff; Edinburgh; Glasgow; Work Foundation at Lancaster University; LSE; Manchester; Newcastle; Sussex; Ulster). The PEC works with a diverse range of industry partners including the Creative Industries Federation.

To find out more, visit www.pec.ac.uk and @CreativePEC

About Work Advance

Work Advance provides research, evaluation and advisory services to advance insights about the economy, society and world of work. We seek to drive evidence-based, practical and sustained improvements in policies, programmes and practices that support:

1. Inclusive and sustainable growth

2. Productive, responsible and dynamic businesses

3. A skilled, diverse and healthy workforce

Work Advance leads the PEC’s area of work on Skills, Talent and Diversity, in partnership with other researchers from across the PEC consortium.

www.workadvance.co.uk

Image by Kushagra Kevat

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Creative PEC

We provide independent research and policy recommendations for the UK's creative industries.

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