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Less than a third of people working in the creative industries who identify as disabled feel optimistic about the opportunities for progression in their career, compared to 69% of general respondents.
The findings, published in the Creative Access disability survey 2022, showed only a quarter felt they had access to the contacts and networks needed to progress their creative career while just a third felt they had the confidence needed, with many describing negative experiences in the workplace contributing to this.
The survey was designed in consultation with a disability consultant and sent to approximately 8,000 contacts on the Creative Access candidate database who had identified as disabled, Deaf or neurodivergent. The organisation received responses from 770 candidates, a response rate of just under 10%.
Those surveyed cited the two biggest barriers to their creative careers as employers’ understanding of making adjustments to allow them to work better and awareness of disability issues among non-disabled colleagues. More than three quarters said they would like more flexible working and training for line managers in supporting disabled employees to thrive.
Many said they chose not to risk disclosing their disability to potential or current employers.
Josie Dobrin, executive chair of Creative Access, said: “In the creative industries — in which disabled people are underrepresented — there is a huge opportunity for employers to gain from the advantage of a more diverse workforce. And disabled candidates are clear about what will best set themselves up for success, whether that’s around flexible working, better training at all levels of the organisation or bespoke routes into mentors. It’s collectively down to us all in the creative economy to decide to listen to the data, spot room for improvement and act on it.
“We at Creative Access also don’t shy away our part to play as a diversity, equity and inclusion organisation that connects diverse candidates with opportunities for jobs and career advancement. We have already begun implementing numerous changes to how we recruit and support our own staff, and we will also be exploring how we support disabled candidate access to networking, bespoke mentor matching and potentially ringfenced access to bursaries for career development.”