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Inquiry Launched into Social Mobility in the Creative Sector

The Performers’ Alliance APPG inquiry, ‘Breaking the Class Ceiling in the Arts’ looks at social mobility in the creative sector.

Published: 18 December 2018 | 12:00 AM Updated: 28 April 2021 | 4:29 PM

The Performers’ Alliance APPG inquiry, ‘Breaking the Class Ceiling in the Arts’ inquiry looks at social mobility in the creative sector.

The inquiry follows a clear public, media and policy interest in social mobility and class as a diversity issue in the arts. As these are not ‘protected characteristics’ in equality legislation, data collection and publication of statistics on class diversity and social mobility monitoring has been uneven across the arts workforce.

Despite this uneven data collection, there is growing concern about how this sector is dominated by people from privileged backgrounds, and a growing body of work which has found that social mobility in the arts may be declining.

The aim is to build on, bring to wider attention and help to propel the growing body of work undertaken on this issue so far.

Barriers to social mobility need to be addressed because they prevent talented people from finding rewarding jobs in a booming part of our economy.

The inquiry will be led by the All-Party Parliamentary Group, engaging MPs and Peers from across the political spectrum on those measures that will make a real difference in securing change. The inquiry will also work closely with the three unions of the Performers’ Alliance – the Musicians’ Union, Equity and the Writers Guild of Great Britain.

For more information on why the inquiry is necessary, its aims and the evidence it will be using, and the timeline it will run on – download the full inquiry report (PDF 157 KB)

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