Concerns over lack of females in the creative industry

Many sectors of the creative industry appear to be failing to attract a significant number of female workers, a fact which is causing some concern to the government. A report produced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has shown that women held just 37 per cent of the jobs available in the creative industries last year. This is despite of the fact that there are some sectors in which women outnumber men, such as the visual arts and publishing, suggesting that the figures for other sectors are even lower.

The department’s concerns are that the under-representation of female workers in the sector as a whole means that they are under-represented in the creative economy as well, which includes those in creative roles outside the economy as well as those who work within it.

The highest proportion of female workers is in the ‘Museums, Galleries and Libraries’ sector, where 65.1 per cent of the jobs are held by women, although the ‘advertising and marketing’ sector is the one that employs the most women by headcount, with 228,000 female workers in the sector.

The DCMs recently reclassified the IT and technology sector as part of the creative industry accounts for the fewest female workers, with only a 19 per cent share of jobs being held by women, followed by the crafts sector where only 24 per cent of jobs are held by women.

The department is committed to encouraging women to enter the creative industries, which they hope to achieve by providing more training, teaching and support for those who might have creative aspirations. Initiatives like TechFuture Girls and Hiive are working towards achieving the goal of equality in the creative industries.

If you’re considering a career as an IT contractor or in any other creative role, then our guide to contactor tax could help you to understand a bit more about your financial position. You can also use our take home pay calculator to help you work out what your earnings could be.

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