CCSkills celebrates women in creative industries

A Creative and Cultural Skills product story

Edited by the Marketingweek Marketplace editorial team Mar 10, 2008

Creative and Cultural Skills Executive Director, Pauline Tambling, last week chaired an event celebrating successful women in the creative industries.

The event, part of Southwark's celebrations of International Women's Week (1-10 March 2008), also featured presentations from Sarah Gaventa, Director of Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment; Dieneke Fergusson, Chief Executive of Hidden Art; and mercury-nominated jazz pianist Zoe Rahman.

Research by CCSkills reveals a distinct diversity issue in the creative and cultural industries.

Across the UK, just 39 per cent of employees working in creative and cultural industries are women.

Only 32 per cent working in the design industries are women, while the most staggering figure comes from the music industry where just 31 per cent of employees are women.

The Women in Creative Industries event aims to celebrate successful women in the sector, learn from their experiences and inspire more women to work in the sector.

CCSkills is committed to developing and running initiatives that help address the diversity issue in the sector, so it is appropriate that Pauline Tambling, Executive Director of CCSkills be called upon to chair such an event and speak about her own experiences working in the arts.

Speaking about the event, Pauline Tambling said: "This is a landmark event for women in the creative industries because although they are well represented in some parts such as the arts, there are other areas, in museums for example, where it is rare to see very senior roles filled by women.

"The emphasis in the creative industries on micro-businesses, unsocial hours and a vast amount of freelancing is also not particularly friendly towards working mothers or those with dependents.

"So, an event that celebrates successful women in the creative industries and encourages more women into the sector is an exciting and important event for us and for the sector".

With a commitment to provide 5,000 creative apprenticeships by 2013 and the launch of a new web-portal - Creative Choices - due in April 2008, CCSkills is taking the lead on opening access to the creative industries and developing the skills of those already working in it.

The event was held at the Design Museum, Southwark on 6 March.