In September 2021, members from CMCI presented the research findings and policy recommendations from the Creative Majority report at the House of Commons. The report, produced in collaboration with King’s Culture emerged from the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Creative Diversity, co-chaired by crossbench peer Baroness Bull and Labour MP Chi Onwaruh. The research team led by Dr Natalie Wreyford (Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries) was supported by Dr Tamsyn Dent (CMCI Research Fellow), Dr Dave O’Brien from the University of Edinburgh and the APPG’s co-secretaries Alex Pleasants and Dr Joanna Abeyie MBE.
The research project was tasked to address the question of ‘What Works’ to support equity and diversity in creative and cultural workforce. A public call for evidence was launched in June 2020 and a series of online round tables, chaired by a member of the APPG and inviting representatives from across the creative and cultural workforce were hosted from June 2020 – March 2021. In total, we received submissions from over 100 individual and organisations.
Alongside the round tables, the research team conducted a systematic literature review focused on research publications that referenced positive employment interventions for equity and diversity. The review found very little written evidence that related to the creative and cultural workforce. Much of the ‘what works’ literature is based on interventions in the fields of education, medicine, management, psychology and STEM.
As such, the final report draws from this wider literature with a critical awareness of the contextual realities of creative and cultural work. Creative Majority distils the lessons from the research literature and the evidence provided through the roundtables and public submissions into a roadmap that incorporates five elements – the five A’s: ambition, allyship, accessibility, adaptability and accountability. The five A’s can be understood as guiding principles for effective practices. The report stresses that this is not the end point for the conversation on improved equity and diversity, but the start, a series of principles that work as part of a broader ecosystem of equitable management.
Creative Majority | King’s Culture | King’s College London
This research project was a collaboration between the APPG for Creative Diversity, King’s College London’s departments of Culture, Media and Creative Industries and King’s Culture and The University of Edinburgh. It included the support and input of a number of people from across policy, academic, the creative and cultural sector and beyond. It represents a positive example of collaborative research practice, one that is based on and values a multitude of voices in the cultural ecosystem:
For real change to happen, EDI needs to come out of the margins and into the spotlight. There is a business imperative as well as a moral one. The disruption caused by COVID-19 have reminded the country, and the world, of the importance of culture and creativity to our lives. The moment of rebuilding offers the opportunity to create a more equitable cultural sector and a more equitable world. (Wreyford et al, 2021 p. 14).
To read the full report, the policy recommendations and for contact information please look at the Creative Majority webpage: Creative Majority | King’s Culture | King’s College London (kcl.ac.uk)
Culture Media and Creative Industries @ Kings 