Adobe surveyed 750 U.S. creative professionals from different backgrounds to understand their perceptions of diversity and inclusion in education and the workplace. We also spoke to 10 thought leaders from the creative industry, community and in education to get their unique perspectives on these issues. We hope these insights will help build awareness, amplify the conversation, and provide a basis for action to create change.
Making the case for diversity
Overall, a large majority of survey respondents believe that diversity drives business success and more than 3 in 4 will not work for a company that doesn’t take it seriously.
The diversity disconnect
Almost 9 in 10 creatives say a diverse workforce should be an industry priority. Yet, only 54 percent believe diversity in the creative industry has gotten better over the last five years.
Creative careers are often out of reach for people of color.
Our results highlight major barriers in education and training for people of color.*
Bias and exclusion stall women and people of color in their career progression.
In line with industry data, we found career advancement is a challenge for women and people of color.
Creatives of color are more likely to report experiencing career barriers than white respondents, and are less likely to say the people they work with value their contributions.
Women are less likely than men to report seeing people like themselves in their industry and more likely to say their gender will hamper future success.
Call to action
We asked thought leaders about how things can change. Here are a few recommendations.
Want to take part in the discussion?
Share the study’s findings and your own actions to address education and workplace challenges for women and creatives of color. #CreativityforAll
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The “Creativity’s Diversity Disconnect” study’s quantitative findings came from an online survey of 750 U.S. creative professionals about their perceptions of diversity and experience in education and the workplace. The survey was conducted from August 29–September 5, 2017. The margin of error for the sample is +/- 3.6%. Adobe also interviewed 10 U.S. creative professionals, educators and community leaders to provide color into the top-level survey findings. These interviews were conducted between September 25–October 4, 2017. The research was commissioned by Adobe. The survey research was produced by Edelman Intelligence and the interview research by Tai Wingfield.
*We also analyzed responses by gender, but didn’t find many significant differences between men and women. These findings line up with broader industry data overall that suggest a robust pipeline exists for female creatives.
