Creating safe and inclusive workspaces in theatre

This week, SOLT/UK Theatre launched its 10 Principles for creating safe and inclusive working spaces in the theatre industry with the support of 22 industry trade bodies, membership organisations, unions and members of AAPTLE. 

It has been designed into a free, downloadable poster so that every organisation can print and display their own copy in their theatre, office or rehearsal room. We’re encouraging everyone working in theatre to familiarise themselves with these ten principles, so that they become the industry standard for eradicating bullying, harassment and discrimination and for creating safer, more welcoming workspaces.

The principles contain commitments to acknowledging employers’ legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010; to respecting each other in work environments; and to taking seriously any allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination, and investigating objectively. 

Allegations of inappropriate workplace behaviour continue

This area of work is not new – these principles are an updated version of those we published in 2017 in response to the #MeToo movement. Both have been adapted from the BFI’s 10 Principles for the film and TV industry. And yet, regrettably, the allegations of inappropriate behaviour at work continue, especially with people increasingly speaking their truth on social media. 

At SOLT/UK Theatre our work continues in this area with the creation of the Theatre Helpline, Dignity at Work training courses, and a series of member consultations with the resulting handbook encouraging safer and more supportive working practices in theatre. 

We have set up a Safeguarding Working Group consisting of HR and employment law specialists and we are represented on the DCMS/Creative Industries Federation Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Working Group both working at speed on initiatives to create a safer working culture. 

Lack of diversity leading to talent drain

The 10 Principles are a part of wider, interconnected improvements that are needed. We know that if employees don’t feel welcome or safe, they leave. Recent research has shown that a lack of workplace diversity and inclusion can result in talent drains, with two in five Black employees leaving a job due to poor working environments. 

Given the challenges the industry is currently facing with recruitment and retention, committing to the principles, and being open about the safeguarding and inclusion work our organisations are doing, will send out a strong signal to both the current and potential workforces for theatre. 

It may not solve all our recruitment issues but it could help attract a more diverse staffing base, and contribute to a healthier, happier workforce. And if we needed any stronger business case, at a time when income generation is top of the list of priorities for many, studies show that organisations with more gender and ethnically diverse staff are 29% more profitable than those who aren’t.  

Changing years of practice

For any change to happen, it needs to start with ourselves, as leaders, as employers, as allies. We must become more self-aware and more honest about the red lines we fear to cross. We need to read more on the subject and be prepared to adjust the way we think and act, which may mean changing years of practice. 

We need to speak to those who are not in our rooms (or our Zooms) and listen carefully to why they don’t feel welcome. With everything we’ve been through in the pandemic, we are all exhausted, time poor, and resource poor. But the pandemic has given us a once in a lifetime opportunity to review the way we work, and to consider the kind of working environment we want to rebuild, so that we can indeed ‘build back better’. 

Over the last eighteen months I have been inspired by the leadership from our members. Many have put their money where their mouth is – including supporting Inc Arts’ Speak Listen Reset Heal Anti-Racism Conference and the UK Theatre membership voting to change its articles earlier this year, to enable us to diversify our board. A similar process has just occurred with the SOLT board. 

The winds of change are blowing

There is no one-size-fits-all solution: each organisation will have its own challenges and opportunities. The most important action we can take is just to act and not be paralysed by a fear of not doing ‘the right thing’. There is no right or wrong, there is just positive intention and action, followed by progress, and a willingness to be prepared to try, fail and try again. 

There are an increasing number of accessible tools being released to assist us with this work, including Inc Arts’ Unlock and the Anti-Racist Touring Rider, as well as many consultants and agencies specialising in this area of work. 

SOLT/UK Theatre will keep its membership and the wider sector updated on progress in this area, but it’s clear from the many meetings and discussions taking place that the winds of change are blowing like never before. The momentum is with us to eradicate inappropriate behaviour from our working spaces once and for all, and instead create a more inclusive, equitable working culture, which will benefit our businesses and our workforce. 

Sebastian Cheswright Cater is Head of UK Theatre and Workforce Development.

 @UK_Theatre