The promised land? Why social inequalities are systemic in the creative industries

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a more comprehensive understanding of why social inequalities and discrimination remain in the creative industries. Design/methodology/approach The paper synthesizes existing academic and industry research and data, with a particular focus on the creative media industries. Findings The paper reveals that existing understanding of the lack of diversity in the creative industries’ workforce is conceptually limited. Better understanding is enabled through an approach centred on the creative industries’ model of production. This approach explains why disadvantage and discrimination are systemic, not transitory. Practical implications The findings suggest that current policy assumptions about the creative industries are misguided and need to be reconsidered. The findings also indicate how future research of the creative industries ought to be framed. Originality/value The paper provides a novel synthesis of existing research and data to explain how the creative industries’ model of production translates into particular features of work and employment, which then translate into social inequalities that entrench discrimination based on sex, race and class.