Creative industries a “closed shop” for most, but deemed a “meritocracy” by top earners, research shows

Most people working in the cultural and creative industries are middle class, with the sector showing worrying discrepancies in ethnicity and gender, a new survey from arts organisation Create has revealed. Presenting findings on social mobility within the arts, the survey showed those earning more than £50,000 per annum were “most likely to believe that they got there through hard work, talent and ambition,” while those earning less that £5,000 per annum were “most likely to believe that it’s not about what you know but who you know.”

More than three quarters of respondents had at least one parent in a middle class (managerial or professional) job when growing up, and at least half had at least one parent with a degree.

Nearly 90% reported that they had worked for free at some point in their career, with 32% of women having worked in unpaid internships as opposed to 23% of men. Women are also earning 32% less than men in the sector. Regarding barriers to ethnic groups in the industry, the survey showed that the “majority of white people in the arts don’t acknowledge the barriers facing BAME people trying to find a foothold in the sector” 30% of BAME were shown to think “ethnicity is very important to getting ahead,” compared to only 10% of white people.

The survey was answered by 2,539 people working in cultural and creative industries through an open call on theguardian.com in September and October 2015.