One in five disabled people working in the British music industry face discrimination at work; a study by UK Music, the umbrella organisation representing the collective interests of the UK’s music industry, has found.
Over 3558 people were surveyed as part of UK Music’s Workforce Diversity Survey. Of those who had said they had a disability or long term health condition (12%), almost one in five (18%) said they had faced discrimination because of their disability. The Chief Executive of UK Music, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, said on the survey’s findings: “There is no place for discrimination of any kind in our industry, and it is shocking to hear some of the experiences that disabled people have faced in the workplace.” The study also includes real testimonies from the survey’s participants, named as ‘Case 7,’ one individual said: “I do feel that there is a lot of virtue signalling with regards to mental health. I had to leave my dream job because I felt judged and unwanted because of my condition.”
The survey also revealed that 24% of the participants that indicated they had a disability or long-term condition said their employers had not made reasonable adjustments for them in their workplaces. However, the majority of this demographic (76%) agreed that their company or organisation had made reasonable adjustments. In a statement accompanying the publication of the survey, the Head of Diversity at UK Music, Rachel Bolland, said: “We have listened to feedback and worked with Attitude Is Everything and our Diversity Taskforce to better understand the needs of people with disabilities in our industry.” She continued: “We want to ensure our talent pipeline reflects the diversity of the country. A key part of this is making sure the industry is developing opportunities for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to gain the necessary skills, experience, support and contacts they require to work or volunteer in the music industry.”
UK Music has also published recommendations on how the industry can better support disabled people and people with long term health conditions at work. They wrote: “These include challenging discrimination, educating staff, listening to employees with a disability or long-term health condition and implementing measures to support them. UK Music would like an industry toolkit to be developed that would help organisations do more to improve opportunities for disabled people.”
The Workforce Diversity Survey is the latest data published by UK music and follows on from the Diversity Report published last October, which included a “Ten-Point Plan to put the music business ‘front and centre’ of the drive to tackle racism and boost diversity in Britain.” The first UK Music Diversity Survey was undertaken in 2016 and is published every two years. The report aims to track progress “to boost diversity and inclusion in the UK’s music industry. “
The UK Music Workforce Diversity Survey is available to read here.
