Creating difference: overcoming barriers to diversity in UK film and television employment

Abstract

A diverse workforce can inform the development of new or enhanced products and services, open up market opportunities, improve market share and broaden an organisation’s customer base1. By 2010, only 20% of the UK’s workforce will be white, able-bodied men under 45 (UKFC 2003: 8). This creates a real need to find ways to drive employers to open up work opportunities for a broader mix of social groups in the workforce so that the UK economy can continue to grow. This research, designed and conducted by the Creative Industries Research and Consultancy Unit, University of Hertfordshire, is a sub-project of Diversity in Practice development partnership, supported by the European Social Fund and managed by core partner, Exemplas. Diversity in Practice seeks to demonstrate the ‘business case’ for organisations to embrace diversity and flexible working strategies and develop (where none exists) innovative resources to help employers and disadvantaged groups in the labour market to access opportunities and make greater contributions to the economy. The partnership was established to explore innovative processes to link cause and effect and to use pragmatic approach to influence policy and build a more flexible growth economy. This research focused sub-project targeting the UK film and television industries will contribute significantly to the aims and objectives of the wider initiative.