How do arts organisations continue to prioritise DEI today?
‘We can’t prioritise this at the moment’.
There are many issues facing the arts at the moment. Arts organisations are working hard to recover following Covid and extensive closures. Let’s remember what was going on during that period? (In no specific order)
Organisations adapted. They moved tuition, auditions and performances, to name a few activities, online
Organisations created courses
Organisations raised funds
Organisations furloughed staff
Black Lives Matter movement had a resurgence following the murder of George Floyd
People raised their voices - leaders largely listened
People and organisations became open to EDI strategies
Arts Council England continue to push their inclusion agenda through, ‘Let’s Create’ and the investment principles
Arts Council England funding was redirected/cut.
It’s widely accepted that there is a slowing down in inclusion progress generally. This is causing people (particularly those with protected characteristics) to feel frustrated, angry, distressed, ignored, and worse, a sense of, ‘I told you so’. Let’s face it, this isn’t the first rodeo for the Black Lives Matter movement.
This blog focusses on the perspectives of leaders of arts organisations now that it is three years since the latest focus on diversity, equity and inclusion began, and we are facing significant society, financial and political challenges.
The current climate for the arts
It’s important to remember that like other organisations and industries, such as policing, NHS, education, FTSE 100 companies, most arts organisations have a leadership structure which is mostly white, non-Disabled, from non-state educated backgrounds, and heteronormative. This is our societal norm and not particular to the arts.
Because of these societal norms, perspectives on racism, ableism and poverty for example, might be missing from current and historic leadership structures. This isn’t a judgement, it’s an observation on our current position.
Having worked with so many arts organisations we have a significant information base to draw some conclusions about the challenges, experiences and thought processes around the subject of inclusion. What we see, hear and experience when we support arts organisations from leaders is a genuine concern about how to manage the current challenges of low audience membership, reduced ticket sales, rising fuel bills, London Living Wage (where appropriate), attracting donors, and the list goes on. The priority has to be keeping the organisations going and so they focus on what they believe to be the best ways to fill auditoriums and engage stakeholders. Some common suggestions from leaders include:
Focusing on audience types which are perceived as having higher incomes- predominantly white audiences.
Focusing on art forms and programmes which attract these types of audiences- shows that attract predominantly white audiences.
Assumptions about what white and global majority audiences will and won’t engage with.
Negative interpretations on accessible and relaxed performances and what they can bring to organisations in the short and long term. .
Postposing building works which make workplaces more accessible.
Cutting or reducing inclusion training plans.
Relying on ‘big names’ to fill auditoriums- relying on existing networks.
Cancelling programmes which diversify career pipelines.
This is essentially a return to the status quo.
The status quo is discriminatory.
If we lean into the old ways of thinking and working in the arts, it means that we return to methods which have historically excluded individuals and groups of people:
Programming which doesn’t reflect the world we live in, or even just the UK.
Programming which is tokenistic because the strategy for meaningful inclusion is missing.
It means traditional methods of using networking as the main method of filling roles remains unchallenged and inequitable.
It means networks continue to be is mostly white, non-Disabled, from non-state educated backgrounds, and heteronormative.
It means people can’t develop their understanding of how to eliminate discrimination from the work place, and their personal role in that.
Just a few bi-products of this include:
People feel let down by their employers, therefore eroding trust
People feel unable to engage with organisations which don’t reflect them, or are at least demonstrating a commitment to making change.
Discrimination, microaggressions and exclusion continue unchecked.
Pipelines continue to lack diversity.
Why is it important to continue to prioritise equity, diversity and inclusion?
We are biased, we believe that inclusion leads to diversity and better outcomes for businesses. This isn’t inevitable, however. We believe there has to be strategy, monitoring, accountability and review to embed inclusion in order for it to lead to diversity and better outcomes.
Failure to invest in a long term measurable and actionable inclusion strategy will lead to business failure in the long term. It might look like:
A population which is becoming more diverse, and which expects organisations to be inclusive and environmentally sustainable, choosing to avoid engaging with our arts organisations. Few stakeholders equals poorer outcomes.
People creating their own arts spaces where they feel less likely to experience career stalling and microaggressions due to their identities. We can see that already with groups such as Chineke!, Ballet Black, Taking Flight Theatre, London Gay Symphony Orchestra. We think this is fabulous as long as it isn’t a response to being pushed out of other spaces, which it currently is to a huge degree.
Organisations which rely on public and private funding, being unable to access that funding.
Societal rejection and public shaming of organisations perceived not to be doing enough to achieve equity.
There are of course more possible outcomes.
The point is, rather than, ‘we can’t prioritise this at the moment’, we say, ‘you can’t afford not to’.
How can we continue to prioritise equity, diversity and inclusion now?
There are myriad ways to continue to deliver an inclusion agenda in a cost effective way.
#1 Focus on Inclusion now
Hold listening activities which can be as simple as an anonymous survey and identify what you’re doing well, and what is concerning people.
Use the information from listening activities and make changes which address people’s concerns.
Relaunch policies having reviewed them through an inclusion lens.
Communicate your current strengths, areas for development and data, and what you plan to do next. This helps to foster trust.
#2 Embed learning from training you already had
Training is worthless unless you have a plan on how to use it in the future. What did you ask people to do with training you’ve already provided?
Add learning from training to:
o Team meetings
o Line management meetings
o Policy review
o Topics for discussion in employee resource groups
o Board papers
#3 Focus on leading inclusively
Leaders set the tone. It is for them to provide the standard everyone else should aspire to.
Leaders should engage with learning about inclusion matters and nuance around protected characteristics so that they can identify when things go wrong and hold each other, and middle leaders to a high standard.
Work collaboratively and spread the load across leadership teams rather than putting all of this emotionally laborious work on one person who likely has their own protected characteristic.
#4 Support your employee resource groups
They are providing you with information and learning. They may even be supporting you with your strategy. It is important that you nurture them:
o With thanks
o With time to do the work they need to do to be part of the group
o By connecting them with other networks and working groups in similar organisations
o With time and or remuneration if possible.
# 5 Create a system of decision making which embeds diversity and inclusion
There are plenty of equality assessment tools available, or you can use a simple flowchart which asks questions of decision makers to ensure they have centred diversity, equity and inclusion in their decisions.
We are passionate about our work and specifically about inclusion in the arts. To help you, we created our inclusion resource pack which supports you to develop your own subject knowledge and understanding around inclusion.
We’ve also created a cost-effective course for leaders of arts organisations so that they can develop their own knowledge of inclusion issues, and learn how to create, implement, and deliver an inclusion strategy.
We’ve also created a cost-effective course for leaders of arts organisations so that they can develop their own knowledge of inclusion issues, and learn how to create, implement, and deliver an inclusion strategy. You can find more information and book your place HERE.