Creative industries
Data
Understand the current situation; inform activities; evaluate change.
Any forward-looking socio-economic diversity and inclusion strategy begins with data and this will help shape your plans at every step. Watch the video to find out more or read our full guidance below.
Developing
As an employer or if commissioning work, follow guidance in the prior section, ‘Measuring socio-economic background’ and ask applicants, apprentices, staff members, freelancers and artists Question 1.
Explain why you are collecting this data (e.g. “we understand there are barriers to access and progression for people from different socio-economic backgrounds and we want to be proactive in changing this).
Assure applicants, apprentices, staff members, freelancers and artists that their data will be stored and handled in line with GDPR best practice, and only used in aggregate to make better decisions about fairer employment practices. It will not be:
- used for appointment and promotion decisions
- accessible beyond the staff member/s responsible for data collection and analysis.
Aim for a 66% response rate in order to get enough data to paint a true picture of the makeup of your workforce
Optimising
As an employer or if commissioning work, follow guidance in the prior section, ‘Measuring socio-economic background’ and ask applicants, apprentices, staff members, freelancers and artists Question 2, 3 and, if applicable, 4.
Think of different ways to encourage and help colleagues to share information. This could include:
- Internal communications
- Annual diversity surveys
Try to convince all colleagues to respond to surveys, but always keep the option open “prefer not to say”.
Aim for an overall response rate of at least 70%.
Share the response rates internally, and brief all staff members on progress and targets in their areas.
For sharing the response rates externally, see ‘Advocacy’ section.
In teams where response rates are low, encourage and support colleagues at all levels to participate.
Developing
Use data to inform and drive your strategy (e.g. use applicants’ responses to see if those from working class backgrounds are applying and are successful).
Optimising
To get a more detailed look at your organisation’s socio-economic profile, benchmark the disaggregated data by seniority level (e.g. executive producer, producer, film crew), and by extent of creative control and by business functions.
Analyse intersectionality between socio-economic background and other characteristics (e.g. gender, ethnicity). Look at different outcomes (e.g. pay, performance ratings, retention).
“Data, both collection and analysis, must be at the centre of any organisation’s attempt to understand, support, and improve social mobility. The first step for an organisation is to understand the class origins of its workforce. This includes employees, freelancers, and those an organisation is commissioning too. Gathering data will allow organisations to benchmark against the working population as a whole, against other professions, and against others in the sector providing the starting point for organisations to think about what is needed”
– Dr Dave O’Brien, Chancellor’s Fellow, Cultural and Creative Industries, University of Edinburgh