IMPALA has released its report on the first diversity and inclusion survey of the independent sector.
The survey was designed by IMPALA’s equity, diversity and inclusion task force, with Keith Harris as adviser and in consultation with national associations.
The survey aimed to map best practices, local developments and projects regarding diversity and inclusion; and also to start building a basic picture of the sector’s diversity and key issues.
The sample of participants covered 22 different countries.
Members highlighted key challenges as being the issues raised as the most challenging as regards diversity and inclusion are race and ethnicity, followed by gender and socio-economic factors. Associations put gender as the first issue to tackle, followed by race and ethnicity and age.
Nearly two thirds of associations have diversity and inclusion policies in place or planned to within the next year.
IMPALA intends to ask the EC to develop more EU diversity related funding opportunities to allow the sector to activate change. The sharing of best practices was also highlighted as a priority.
Keith Harris, adviser to IMPALA’s equity, diversity and inclusion task force, said: “This is a learning process for the sector, and it’s encouraging to see the independents pushing on with their commitments. The most important thing is always to get started. One question we could add in the future would be if respondents feel that is there a business benefit in having a diverse workforce, or if they feel it is just the right thing to do. I encourage IMPALA to continue working on this and this report provides IMPALA with useful information to move forward.”
Eva Karman Reinhold, SOM’s CEO and IMPALA’s equity, diversity and inclusion task force’s co-chair, added: “We thank all respondents who took the time to participate during the pandemic and when the whole sector was suffering from survey fatigue. We still have a lot of work to do for sure, but it is encouraging to see that change is happening as well. We hope this report will encourage the sector to use the IMPALA resources available and seek more help at national level in addressing these issues.”
Paul Pacifico, AIM’s CEO and IMPALA’s equity, diversity and inclusion task force’s co-chair, said: “Finding out where members sit on diversity and inclusion issues generally is key to the task force. We asked about whether they have diversity and inclusion policies. We also wanted information on the measures they apply as employers to be more inclusive, and of course the challenges they face. We also asked how they rate themselves in terms of their own diversity. The results will serve as a good baseline to measure progress in the future as we do the work to foster a more diverse and inclusive music sector.”
Helen Smith, IMPALA’s executive chair, added: “Surveying members was the first commitment IMPALA set in our diversity and inclusion charter. The need for EU and national support for change is very clear and we will raise this finding with the EU institutions. We will also flag the need for the EU to help gather workforce data as we look at ways of mapping the EU cultural sectors further.”
You can read the full report here.
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