Screen Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Survey findings published

Published: 26 May 2016

Findings from a survey looking into under-representation in Scotland’s Screen Sector are published today, Thursday 26 May, 2016.

As part of the Screen Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Review, this wide-ranging survey has gathered practitioners’ experiences and views on perceived barriers to participation and progression in the Sector.

Over 500 individuals working in film and TV in Scotland responded to the online survey with economic limitations and gender cited as key perceived barriers to participation and progression:

• Economic limitations were the most commonly cited barrier overall (55%) with the costs of professional training and a culture of unpaid internships being key issues.
• Gender was cited as a barrier for 39% of women compared to only 7% of men.   A key issue for women was balancing parental responsibilities with a Screen Sector career – Women with children were 75% more likely to cite parental responsibilities as a barrier than their male counterparts.
• 24% of respondents stated they had a disability or long term health condition. This compares to 19% of the national working age population. 15% stated that they saw their disability as a barrier.
• 10% of respondents were from minority ethnic or mixed groups. This compares with 4% of the Scottish population (Census 2011). 40% of Minority Ethnic respondents saw ethnicity as a barrier to career progression.

View the full survey findings.

Natalie Usher, Director of Screen at Creative Scotland said: “A more diverse Screen Sector is better for everyone - not just the filmmakers, but audiences who are hungry to see stories on screen from a range of voices.

“The findings from the Screen EDI Survey offer a clear indication that barriers to participation and progression exist at many levels across the Sector.

“I’d like to thank everyone who took part in the Survey and now look forward to sharing insights more widely and discussing how, as a Sector, we can collectively address issues of under-representation.

“Later in the year, Creative Scotland will present the full Screen Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Review; it will include analysis of this Survey in the context of the wide range of activity across Scotland’s Screen Sector and set against an international backdrop of research and activity.  It will incorporate sector recommendations on positive action that we can take together to further support a more inclusive Screen Sector in Scotland.”

Some of the themes covered by the Survey are being highlighted at Edinburgh International Film Festival.  Issues around gender and under-representation of female practitioners will be the subject of a panel discussion at Scotland’s Screen Summit within EIFF on Wednesday 15 June, 2016. This will be followed by an event on Thursday 16 June at which an invited group of individuals and organisations from the Sector will discuss questions of equality, diversity and inclusion and share insight and recommendations for next steps.

Find out more about about the Summit. 

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Background
Following an analysis of the implementation of Creative Scotland on Screen: Film Strategy 2014-17 in the run up to its first year, we identified that further work could be done to address issues of under-representation within the Scottish Screen Sector.

We identified the need to review our monitoring and data gathering procedures on Screen Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion in order to inform our collective understanding of under-representation across the Screen Sector.

With this in mind, we designed a survey aimed at collecting information to inform the Sector’s knowledge of the experiences and barriers faced by practitioners within the Sector. Questions on age, gender, ethnicity, disability, and sexual orientation were included - all defined ‘protected characteristics’ in The Equality Act 2010. Questions were also asked to provide further insight into socio-economic background, occupation, employment status, income, career progression. 

The Survey design was informed by international and national research, along with input from across the Scottish Screen Sector (a full list can be found in the appendix at the end of the report).

The draft Survey was shared with representatives from film education, talent and skills, development, production and exhibition who fed back their thoughts directly informing the final Survey.

On 10 February 2016 the Survey went live, shared across 100+ organisations and individuals who in turn shared via their own networks and newsletters (including Creative Scotland, Glasgow Film Festival, Film Hub Scotland, Directors UK, Writers Guild of Great Britain, Women in Film and TV, Raising Films). In addition, five case studies from the sector were identified and are presented on Creative Scotland's website - Bridging The Gap, Scottish Film Talent Network, Visible Cinema , Raising Films, Scottish Queer International Film Festival.

The Survey closed on 7 March 2016 with responses from over 500 of Scotland’s Screen professionals.

Creative Scotland on Screen, Film Strategy 2014-17: https://www.creativescotland.com/what-we-do/latest-news/archive/2014/10/film-strategy-2014-17-published

Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here.  We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life.  We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com.  Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland

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