Diversity in the creative and cultural industries 

Cover and inside pages of our report on diversity in the creative industries
Read our report on the impact of Covid on diversity in the creative and cultural sectors.

Researchers: Anamik Saha, Roaa Ali, Bridget Byrne, Stephanie Guirand

The project explored how robust moves towards diversity are in a time of crisis within the cultural sector. Working with Creative Access, we investigated the experience of those who have entered the industry via work placements and training schemes, examining the impact of the pandemic on diversity policies. We also explored the impact of the #BlackLivesMatters protests from July 2020 to see the impact this has had on creative careers, after many media and creative organisations released statements in support of the movement. We used in-depth interviews and an online survey.

Report

Download our report: 'The impact of Covid-19 and BLM on Black, Asian and ethnically diverse creatives and cultural workers'R Ali, S Guirand, B Byrne, A Saha and H Taylor, Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity, March 2022.

Podcast

Listen to the episode of our Race and Ethnicity in Britain podcast based on this project: Episode 5: Diversity in the theatre and creative industries. Listen on Spotify, SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

Videos

Watch our videos exploring the the experiences of people from ethnic minority backgrounds working in the creative and cultural industries:

  1. What are the barriers to people from ethnic minority backgrounds trying to enter or progress in the creative industries? Full version (6:14 mins) Shorter edit (0:40 mins)
  2. What does it feel like to come through a diversity scheme? Full version (5:13 mins) Shorter edit (1:05 mins)
  3. What was 2020 like for people from ethnic minority backgrounds working, or trying to work in the creative industries? Full version (8:47 mins) Shorter edit (1:08 mins)
  4. What was the impact of Black Lives Matter? Full version (11:50 mins) Shorter edit (1:40 mins)

Watch the recording of 'On and off screen diversity: Why does it matter?' an event held on Thursday, 11 November 2021. Speakers: Roaa Ali (CoDE), Sadia Habib and Shaf Choudry (The Riz Test) and Josie Dobrin (Creative Access).