our mission

We champion socioeconomic diversity, equity and inclusion in the UK creative industries.

Since 2014 we’ve been working to shape inclusive leaders, elevate emerging talent, and foster systemic change in the UK creative industries so that they reflect the diversity of our society.

What do we do?

At Creative Mentor Network, we believe in a future where there is no class ceiling in the UK's creative industries.

We focus on socioeconomic diversity, supporting young people aged 16-25 from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, whilst training people in the industry to be inclusive leaders to give them the tools to create more accessible spaces in the creative industry.

what is socioeconomic diversity?

Socioeconomic diversity is linked directly to economic and social factors related to your birth or upbringing.

We support 16-25 year olds from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, meaning they have had less access to money, professional contacts, and the social and cultural capital that their peers may have. These factors can all directly impact their opportunities to access and thrive in work in the creative industries.

Socioeconomic background is measured by using three key factors: parental occupation at 14, the type of school attended, and eligibility for free school meals.

what barriers do they face?

Every day we work with brilliant young creatives who are held back from entering the industry due to multiple barriers that face them. It is only by understanding these barriers that we can work to provide solutions and make the vital changes to dismantle them.

These barriers exist throughout different key life stages. Exposure to arts at a young age, career education in schools, and access to networks and the hidden jobs market are some of the factors that often act as barriers for people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Our mentors receive training to help balance some of these inequalities to help our community access opportunities and thrive in them.

A mentor and mentee bonding at the end of their programme.

HOW TO MAKE IT
IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY

A book titled Making It In The Creative Industry: A Practical Guide

There are a number of barriers that exist specifically in the creative industry that we work with our mentors and partners to help dismantle.

Unpaid and underpaid internships, hiring practices like “the beer test” and unconscious biases around how people talk, are still prevalent issues within the industry.

Our book, Making It In The Creative Industry: A Practical Guide, highlights a number of these.

Warning: this may make some readers uncomfortable, but that’s ok.

📚 Read it here