Discrimination against working class people should be illegal, cultural report recommends

Discrimination and bias against working class people should be made illegal, a new Greater Manchester-based cultural report has recommended.

Entitled 'Class Ceiling', the report comes as a result of an independent inquiry, with support from the Co-op firm for social mobility, into the exploitation of artists from lower socio-economic backgrounds, surveying 300 people from across the region and 150 hours of focus groups. 

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50% of respondents to the survey said they had experienced differential treatment, bullying, bias, or harassment due to their background, with just 20% claiming to have personally met someone working in the arts from a similar background.

Under half of those surveyed reported making enough from their job to make a living, with the report highlighting that low pay, unpaid work, informal hiring, and closed networks "block talent" and act as a barrier for working class people in the arts.

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Other recommendations in the report include a policy of "de-casualising labour" - including ensuring all placements, traineeships and internships are paid opportunities - supporting the growth of grassroots music venues, phasing out exploitative music promoters and removing barriers to the arts so young people from working class backgrounds can be exposed to the creative industries.

Lowry chair Nazir Afzal, who helped lead the report, told BBC News that class discrimination should be a "core inclusion issue" and current barriers are "crushing creativity". Afzal echoed the Co-op's calls to make class background a protected characteristic under the 2010 Equality Act.

You can read the full 'Class Ceiling' report here.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on X