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About the culture change guides

About the culture change guides

We think the work we support, and the workforce of arts and culture organisations, should reflect the diversity of England. It’s important that diverse talent is represented at all levels, across different roles and in the board room. There has been some positive progress in increasing workforce diversity, but more needs to be done. 

The Culture Change Guide contains case studies and best practice examples from the arts and culture sector and beyond, with guidance on how to recruit and support diverse talent in an organisation, and how to capture and use diversity data. There are six downloadable PDF guides:

  • How to find and grow diverse talent
  • How to recruit diverse talent
  • How to support diverse talent
  • How to develop diverse leadership
  • How to create diverse boards
  • How to collect and use diversity data

To navigate the toolkit, use the ‘next’ button at the bottom of each page to go to the next module.

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How to find and grow diverse talent

Growing the cultural sector is, in part, dependent upon changing the perception of the sector and making entry to it more transparent to individuals while removing practices that are not inclusive. It’s not about doing everything but doing what is achievable for your organisation.

In this section:

  • What can you do?
  • Barriers to overcome
  • Good practice case studies
  • Downloadable resources: How to find and grow diverse talent / Developing meaningful apprenticeships, internships and work experience
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How to recruit diverse talent

The cultural sector is taking steps to attract a more diverse pool of individuals and this section outlines what you can do to recruit more diverse talent and a range of good practice case studies showcasing what others have done successfully.

In this section:

  • What can you do?
  • The current situation
  • Barriers to overcome
  • Opportunities
  • Good practice case studies
  • Downloadable resources: How to recruit diverse talent / Designing a Person Specification / How to diversify proof your policies / Removing bias from shortlisting and selection process
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How to support diverse talent

Diversity supports innovation and sound decision-making within inclusive work environments. This section provides an overview of how to create a workplace where people feel valued and encouraged to develop and thrive.

In this section:

  • The current situation
  • Good practice case studies
  • Downloadable resources: How to support diverse talent / How to carry our performance appraisals
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How to develop diverse leadership

Most organisations within the arts and cultural sector believe in the importance of diversity. However, in many organisations there is a gap when looking at diversity within the teams with strategic decision-making responsibility. This section outlines practical ways to grow diverse leaders. It is focused on a proportionate approach to consider the size of your organisation and/or collaborating with other organisations who share your goals.

In this section:

  • What can you do?
  • Barriers to overcome
  • Good practice case studies
  • Downloadable resources: How to develop diverse leadership / Creating leadership development opportunities to retain talented future leaders
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How to create diverse boards

A diverse board can make decisions more effectively by reducing the risk of ‘groupthink’. Board members are responsible for devising or agreeing strategies through critical appraisal and effective problem solving. A challenge in the decision-making process, within the boardroom, is ‘groupthink’ – the psychological behaviour of minimising conflicts and reaching a consensus decision. Including the contributions of people with different skills, backgrounds and experiences creates solutions to problems from a greater range of perspectives. This also provides a more comprehensive oversight to the operations of the organisation and enhancement of the company’s sensitivity to a wider range of possible risks such as reputation and compliance risks.

This section highlights what you can do to create a diverse board and take advantage of the benefits.

In this section:

  • What can you do?
  • The current situation
  • Challenges to overcome
  • Good practice case studies
  • Downloadable resources: How to create diverse boards / How to work as an inclusive board
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How to collect and use diversity data

How do you know if you are a diverse and fair organisation? Monitoring the effectiveness of your policies and actions is essential to show that your activities are achieving your intended outcomes. Data cannot of course tell the whole story, however, it tells us where we should direct our efforts and helps us make the case for public funding.

The first step is to gather information on the diversity of your organisation, eg workforce or audience reach. Diversity information is based on current UK equality legislation, which aims to prevent discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership and gender reassignment.

In this section:

  • What can you do?
  • Barriers to overcome
  • Opportunities
  • Good practice case studies
  • Downloadable resources: How to collect and use diversity data / How to collect and use equality information
Read previous section