As the Disabled Creators Programme enters its second year, Creative Equals CEO Ali Hanan speaks to three of last year’s participants to understand the challenges of entering the profession as a disabled creative.
The market for people with disabilities is larger than China’s and it’s growing, with a population of 1.85 billion people and $1.9 trillion in annual disposable income. If you add in the friends and family of people with disabilities, these groups combined have a disposable income of over $13 trillion per year.
Yet disabled people are underrepresented in media and advertising content. In fact, a survey published by the Business Disability Forum and conducted by Ipsos found that almost a third of UK adults had not seen a disabled person portrayed in any media or advertising content they had watched, listened to or read in the past six months.
It’s not just that disabled people are not represented in creative work: disabled creatives are rarely seen in the industry, with the Advertising Association’s landmark 2021 census showing that disabled talent is significantly underrepresented (9% compared to 20% of the working-age population).
Let’s be honest: these statistics are no coincidence: without diversity of creative thought, there is little diversity of creative output.
As a growing body of research proves that diversity does indeed foster creativity, these startling statistics raise the question:
With the benefits so clear, why has the creative industries for so long ignored disability inclusion in all its facets?
Well, the answer is mainly stigma.
Disability prejudice remains one of the most pervasive barriers preventing people with disabilities from gaining equal opportunities. The reality is that bias against people with disabilities has been deeply rooted throughout history, and it not only affects how society at large views and treats people with disabilities, but also how people with disabilities view and treat themselves.
Not only are many disabled people shut out of creative work, many are made to feel like they don’t belong in the industry at all. Living on the front lines of ableism, discrimination, stereotyping, macro- and micro-aggressions, many disabled people feel incompetent, worthless and inferior (three of the most common phrases I’ve heard from disabled people recently).
Disabled and neurodiverse people are the most creative people in the world. They take control of their minds and bodies every day in a world that was not made for them. Yet the creative industries have long since failed to do the deep work needed to drive disability inclusion.
Last year, we decided we couldn’t take it anymore and launched Disabled Creatives, a unique industry initiative to champion disabled talent and perspectives and connect disabled talent to the creative industries.
Disabled Creatives is a fully-funded programme aimed at disabled and neurodevelopmental people across the UK who have worked or studied as creatives in advertising, marketing or design. As well as a mix of online, self-directed learning and interactive workshops, disabled creatives will be given the opportunity to work on a live creative advertising brief. Candidates will receive extra support after the programme, including job placement assistance, training workshops and mentorship to help them return to work.
Ahead of the programme’s return in 2024, I met with three members of last year’s class – Yama Nozad, Imee Kent Muller, and James Goodwin-Davis – to gain a better understanding of what life is like as a disabled or neurodevelopmental creative, including the barriers and challenges they face entering and working in the creative industries.