Diversity Changes Everything:
We value difference and celebrate the creativity that it brings.
We are committed to improving diversity and inclusion across our organisation and industry by championing a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, identities, talents, and physical and cognitive differences.
Diversity is essential to growing and future-proofing the creative industries.
The most gender and ethnically diverse led companies are 39% more likely to outperform their competitors in profitability [1]; companies and teams with greater diversity are 70% more likely to capture new markets [2]; and diverse leadership teams are 73% more likely to reap innovation revenues [3].
However, across the creative industries workforce, diversity has stalled and in some cases is going backwards, for example, 90% of the arts, culture and heritage workforce is White [4], only 39% of the creative industries workforce is female [4], just 15% has a disability [4] (compared to 18% of the wider UK workforce [4]) and working class representation is less than half what it was in the 1970s (16.4% [5] Vs 5.3% [4]), and well below the wider UK economy (28% [4]), directly threatening the sector’s ability to sustain and grow.
Creative UK believes that there needs to be a renewed and explicit focus on increasing the diversity of the sector so that it better represents the audiences and multivariant communities from where creativity springs and is enjoyed, maximising the economic and social benefits that the creative and cultural industries bring, both here in the UK and internationally.
To achieve this, the creative industries workforce should better reflect the diversity of the nation, bringing with it the new perspectives, innovations, networks, audiences, and markets that the sector needs to fulfil its potential.
Creative UK is working with our members and allies from across the creative and cultural industries to build a more inclusive, diverse and connected creative industries eco-system and workforce.
– Sarah Gregory, Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
#CreateDiversity
Create Diversity is a hub of ideas, learning and inspiration that aims to encourage organisations across the creative and cultural sector to embark on or deepen their own equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) journey so that together, we grow the sectors’ diversity of thought, output, reach and engagement, maximising the economic and social impact this brings.
Find out more today at diversity.wearecreative.uk.
Access Support – How Can We Help You?
We recognise that anyone can have access support needs and we will consider your personal circumstances when communicating with us or engaging with our programmes. We will assist you by making reasonable adjustments so that you can access all of the opportunities we offer. Details of our access support can be found below.
Read our access support statement
EDI Advisory Group
Creative UK’s EDI Advisory Group draws in expertise and lived experience from across the creative and cultural industries to inform and steer us towards more diverse and inclusive practice across our organisation and the work that we do across the wider industry.
Working with Young People & Early Career Creatives
We actively support and engage with young people who are exploring, beginning or progressing their creative careers.
We help young people to discover work in the creative industries through the Discover Creative Careers programme, share essential industry insights and opportunities through our Student Membership, and support early career access to the industry through programmes such as Shortflix, the Filming in England Crew Directory, and Screen Launchpad.
We also ensure that young people’s voices are represented through our leadership with two dedicated Board placed reserved for young creatives. Our current young board members are:
Workforce Recruitment
Creative UK take a fair, equitable, and consistent approach to recruitment and retention.
- We are committed to being an equal opportunities employer.
- We are proactive in ensuring that our opportunities reach and are accessible to underrepresented communities.
- We aim to ensure that every candidate’s experience of our application process is positive.
- We will make reasonable adjustments to meet access support requirements including those that are not directly related to a recognised disability or long-term health condition (see our access support statement above).
- We foster a fair pay and inclusive approach to all apprenticeships & interns.
- We aim to foster a flexible, happy and inclusive workplace culture.
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Creative UK aims to nurture a culture that is positively supportive of people’s mental health and wellbeing. We have been awarded the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) People First Promise Pledge Badge of Honour in recognition of the mental health and wellbeing support that we provide for our staff and programme beneficiaries.
Unacceptable Behaviour
Creative UK is committed to being a fair and equitable organisation that rejects all forms of discrimination.
We are working to create an inclusive environment in which our workforce, members, clients and others we work with can live and work free from prejudice, discrimination, and marginalisation. Read our equal opportunities and anti-racism statements below.
Bullying and harassment are equally unacceptable behaviours that we are working towards eradicating from the industry. Everyone has the right to feel safe at work and to be treated with dignity and respect. We are supporting the development of CIISA (the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority) in their work towards an industry that is free from all forms of bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment.
We convene the industry-wide roundtable to tackle bullying and harassment. Learn more about the roundtable, our work to tackle bullying and harassment, and how the industry is responding here.
References
- McKinsey & Company, Diversity Matters Even More, 2023, https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-matters-even-more-the-case-for-holistic-impact
- 2.Harvard Business Review, 2013, https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-diversity-can-drive-innovation, re-cited 2023, https://hbr.org/2023/09/what-makes-an-inclusive-leader
- BCG, How Diverse leadership Teams Boost Innovation, 2023, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2018/how-diverse-leadership-teams-boost-innovation
- Demographic representation within employment across the Creative and Cultural Industries, Source: Economic Estimates: Employment in DCMS sectors (July 2023 to June 2024), Published: 12 December 2024
- Sage Journals, Social Mobility and Openness in Creative Occupations since the 1970s, 2022, O, Brook, A, Miles, M, Taylor, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00380385221129953