1 in 5 of the working-age population are classed as disabled and the number of people reporting a long-term health condition or disability is rising; largely driven by an increase in mental health conditions. Only 54% of disabled people are employed, compared to 82% of non-disabled people[1].

Some issues around employment and access to opportunities for disabled workers and job seekers are common across all sectors:

• Low levels of representation in the workforce and lack of role models at senior levels
• Recruitment processes that regularly create obstacles for disabled job applicants
• Fewer opportunities for career progression
• Lack of awareness and difficulties in getting employers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace
• Fears of being devalued if disclosing a disability or condition

The nature of the creative industries can make all these problems more acute. The working environment can be fast-paced and often staff are on short-term contracts and working towards tight deadlines which are apt to change. Career progression is not as linear as in other industries and informal networking still plays a large role. All of which can make those living with certain conditions feel the impact of their challenges more keenly. However, with the appropriate level of understanding, reasonable adjustments can be made to improve the accessibility of roles and opportunities.

The results of a survey of the Creative Access community in 2022, published in a report on disability equity in the UK’s creative industries showed:

• Only a quarter of disabled respondents feel they have access to the contacts and networks
• Less than a third feel they have the confidence they need to progress their creative career and are optimistic about the opportunities for progression

Whilst we acknowledge that the creative industries – in which disabled people are under-represented – do throw up many challenges, it also presents opportunities for companies to become trailblazer and lead the way in establishing the best approaches supporting disabled employees to thrive.

The Equality Act 2010 states employers must make reasonable adjustments to support disabled job applicants and employees, this includes support progressing in work. 88% of our survey respondents cited the two biggest barriers to their creative careers were:

• Employers’ understanding of making adjustments to allow them to work better
• Awareness of disability issues amongst non-disabled colleagues

We asked candidates about tactics to improve the accessibility of the creative economy to disabled people. The most important thing was that employers be responsive to employees negotiating a working pattern that met their individual needs; over three quarters of respondents cited that they’d like:

• More flexible working
• Training for line managers in supporting disabled employees to thrive

There is a pressing need for creative employers to improve access for disabled applicants and support progression within the sector. We’ve cited our top tips below, but you can read the full report and recommendations here: Disability equity in the UK’s creative industries

• Base your approach on universal principles that benefit the entire team, so disabled people are not always requiring differentiation. This might include a general respect and curiosity about what enables all staff to bring their true selves to work, or the completion of Wellness Action Plans that are an easy, practical way to support mental health at work
• Review use of imagery in presentations, in marketing material and on your website
• Audit policies and procedures around recruitment, training and promotion to flag up any barriers
• Audit your staff to ensure hiring and line managers sufficiently understand their legal duties towards disabled people as set out in the Equality Act 2010 If using third party recruiters, ensure they are compliant with the measures set out in the Equality Act
• Check your marketing collateral; are the fonts and colours disability compliant? Is the text conducive to neurodivergent reading? Is your website accessible for people using screen reading software?
• Consider making adjustments to your application procedures; not everyone is able to complete the conventional application form and a formal interview with a panel of interviewers can be daunting for many people. Allow applicants to see interview questions in advance, provide photos of panels and opportunities to visit the building
• Ensure you paint a realistic picture of life in at your organisation and within the sector during the recruitment process
• Undertake appropriate team training, eg, for example: embracing neurodiversity, cultivating empathetic conversations around mental health, disability equity to ensure staff are more aware of what ‘reasonable adjustments’ can and should be made
• Consider running a Positive Action schemes specifically aimed at recruiting disabled people
• Review working hours and patterns and provide opportunities for flexible working

• Disability & Employment | Factsheets | CIPD
• The Employment Toolkit for Job Seekers with Disabilities – Differently Wired
• Employability toolkit – BeyondAutism
• Equality Act 2010: Duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments for their staff
• The 4 types of discrimination: what every employer needs to know

 

[1] ONS Labour Market Status of disabled people, May 2022

Research findings within Creative Access’ Disability Report 2022 were quoted in Campaign’s article covering Clear Channel, Heineken and Arla’s adaptation of OOH ads for neurodiversity drive.

Clear Channel UK has joined forces with Heineken, Arla, Keep Britain Tidy and LeoReader for the launch of “Different minds, better outcomes” – a campaign devised to make ads more neurodivergent-friendly.

Read the article in full here.

• Only a quarter feel they have access to the contacts and networks needed to progress their creative career (vs. 62% of general respondents) 
•  88% cite the two biggest barriers as: lack of employer understanding of ‘reasonable adjustments’, and awareness of disability issues among colleagues 
• Many candidates choose not to disclose disability to potential or current employers 

Creative Access has today published a new report on Disability equity in the UK’s creative industries, which reveals the shocking extent to which disabled UK workers have experienced prejudice around access to jobs or progression opportunities in creative industries. The gap widens when disabled individuals also identify as being from a Black, Asian, Ethnically Diverse (BAED) or low socio-economic status (LSES).  

Creative Access data showed, when asked to agree or disagree with the statement ‘I feel I have the the necessary confidence to progress in my career’ 70% of respondents who identified as BAED agreed, this dropped to just 40% when respondents identified as BAED and disabled³. When asked about seeing opportunities for career progression, the answers were 71% vs. 60% respectively³. 

In the UK currently 1 in 5 in UK workers are disabled, and the likelihood of unemployment is higher with disabled workers (81% vs. 52.7% of non-disabled workers)¹. And while the employment gap had been closing, the pandemic took us back a step. Disabled workers are also more likely to be in lower-skilled occupations, self-employed, working part-time (and subsequently less hours), working in the public sector or temporarily away from work¹. 

We asked candidates about tactics to improve the accessibility of roles and opportunities in the creative economy to disabled people. The most important thing was that employers be responsive to employees negotiating a working pattern that met their individual needs; over three quarters of respondents cited that they’d like: 

• More flexible working  
• Training for line managers in supporting disabled employees to thrive 

The survey found 56% of respondents are affected by more than one category of disability (rising to 86% of respondents affected by mental illness and at least one other). Only a third of respondents felt they had confidence to progress their creative career, citing negative experiences at work contributing to low confidence. And only 1 in 3 stated that their organisation had an inclusive culture.  

On intersectionality, BAED respondent Lily Ahree Siegel said: “It’s not about the lack of talent but lack of access. It seems no matter how qualified or excellent I am, I need to be extraordinary to receive praise and access to similar institutions to my white, able-bodied peers…Like many jobs, there’s a lot hinging on others to “take a chance” on someone. Not to mention other systemic disadvantages – disabled people are more likely to be unemployed or living in poverty. I have [also] yet to see a person like myself in a leadership position.” 

While there was no ‘one size fits all approach’ for adjustments or considerations for employers when it comes to helping disabled workers and candidates thrive. A common theme appeared among immediate considerations, including: 

• Audit your staff to ensure hiring and line managers (and third party recruiters) sufficiently understand their legal duties towards disabled people as set out in the Equality Act 2010 
• Undertake appropriate team training, e.g. on embracing neurodiversity, mental health or disability equity to ensure staff are more aware of what ‘reasonable adjustments’ can and should be made
• Consider making adjustments to your application procedures regarding forms, interviews and communication around the recruitment process

Josie Dobrin, Executive Chair, Creative Access: 

“In the creative industries – in which disabled people are under-represented – 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 upon 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.” 

• Creative Access disability equity report 2022
• Inclusive employer action plan resource (disability) 
• Upcoming open employer training: mental health, neurodiversity, disability equity

We designed the survey in consultation with a disability consultant. This was sent to approximately 8,000 contacts on the Creative Access candidate database who had identified themselves as disabled, Deaf or neurodivergent. It was sent by email and completed via an online form during September 2022. In total we received responses from 770 candidates. 

¹ ONS ‘The employment of disabled people 2021’, 11 February 2022 

²Responses in the category ‘other’ included responses such as Hard of hearing/Deaf, Epilepsy, PTSD, Dyslexia, Cerebral Palsy, Stammer and Multiple Sclerosis amongst others. 

³Creative Access 2022 Thrive Report which surveyed employers and employees in creative industry roles

In 2022 we commissioned a survey in consultation of all those within the Creative Access community who identified themselves as disabled, Deaf or neurodivergent. 

The findings, published in a new report, show a pressing need for creative employers to improve access for disabled workers and support progression within the sector. Key observations about disabled individuals working in or looking to break in to the creative sector were:

• Only a quarter feel they have access to the contacts and networks needed to progress their creative career (vs. 62% of general respondents)
• 88% cite the two biggest barriers as: lack of employer understanding of ‘reasonable adjustments’, and awareness of disability issues among colleagues
• Many candidates choose not to disclose disability to potential or current employers

Over three quarters said they would like to see more flexible working and training for line managers in supporting disabled employees to thrive.

Read the report in full here: Disability inclusion report 2022.

Read our employer resource on disability equity in the creative industries here.

We’re excited to announce that disability and diversity consultant Simon Minty will be joining the Creative Access team of trainers. He’ll be delivering workshops which support our employer partners to broaden their understanding of disability in the workplace and beyond; starting with an open workshop – Disability 101 – on June 9th.

The workshop will include discussing best practice, reasonable adjustments, approaching conversations around disability at work, and dealing with microaggressions and ableism.

Simon has delivered public speaking, training and consultancy in diversity and inclusion since early 2000s and helps improve the portrayal of disabled people in television and on stage.

He is a non-executive director of Motability Operations, is on the board of the National Theatre and co-chair of StopGap Dance. He is an Ambassador to the Business Disability Forum and Business Disability International. He also helped establish the Disability Media Alliance Project in California.

Simon co-hosts two podcasts, BBC Ouch! and The Way We Roll, he regularly reviews The Papers for BBC News, and in 2021 he joined the cast of Channel 4’s Gogglebox. He also co-produced and performed in the Edinburgh Fringe comedy show Abnormally Funny People.

In 2016 GQ named Simon Minty as one of the 100 best connected men in the UK. He has featured on the Power 100 List of disabled people for many years. He has personal experience of disability being of short stature and limited mobility.

Disability 101 Open Workshop led by Simon Minty

Thursday 9th June, 2 – 3:30pm

Sign up for the open workshop here.

If you are interested in organising disability training for your team or organisation, please contact us here.