Music industry must eradicate discrimination towards people with disabilities, says UK Music
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
A recent UK Music survey has revealed that one in five disabled people face discrimination at work.
UK Music is calling on music industry leaders to remove potential barriers to job opportunities faced by disabled people and people with long term health conditions.
The call comes as UK Music published new findings from its Workforce Diversity Survey that reveal one in five disabled people in the music industry has faced discrimination at work.
The survey also revealed that:
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76% of those with a disability or long-term condition said their employers had made reasonable adjustments for their disability or condition.
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However, 24% - almost one in four - said that their company or organisation they worked for had not made reasonable adjustments.
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Of those who said they had a disability or long-term health condition, almost one in five people (18%) said they had faced discrimination because of their disability.
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More than half (54%) of those with a disability or long-term condition said they had also faced discrimination on the grounds of age, gender, or socio-economic background.
Opportunities for improvement include challenging discrimination, educating staff, listening to employees with a disability or long-term health condition and implementing measures to support them.
UK Music have also called for an industry toolkit to be developed that would help organisations do more to improve opportunities for disabled people.
UK Music Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said: 'The music industry has made great progress in recent years when it comes to diversity and inclusion, and we are united in our determination to lead the way in this critical area.
'However, our latest data reveals we still have work to do on ensuring the industry is a safe and supportive place for people with a disability or long-term health condition.
'There is no place for discrimination of any kind in our industry, and it is shocking to hear some of the experiences that disabled people have faced in the workplace.
'Across the music industry, we must continue to do everything we can to remove the barriers that disabled people face and ensure there is true equality of opportunity, so that everyone can fulfil their potential.'
Read more about UK Music's Workforce Diversity Survey here: https://www.ukmusic.org/equality-diversity/uk-music-diversity-report-2020/