Helping young women break into the creative industries
There is an ever-growing interest in working within the creative industries, despite the current pandemic.
With over two million people in the UK employed in the creative sector, it is projected an additional one million jobs will be created by 2030.
Putting aside such impressive statistics, upon further research it seems the industry still has quite a lot to do in terms of gender imbalance.
According to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 40.6% of male creative arts graduates who were working six months after graduation were employed in the creative industries as opposed to only 30.3% of their female counterparts.
There could be several reasons as to why this is occurring.
To begin with, there is still a big lack of representation for women in the creative sector. Only 11% of creative directors are women.
In addition, many creative industries are traditionally male spheres – IT, software and computer services accounting for around 31.5%.
Research fellow, Dr Tamsyn Dent, whose PhD paper explores the impact of motherhood on women’s career trajectories in the creative and media industries, says: “There is a growing body of data that illustrates how work in the creative media industries is marked by bleak inequalities. The problem of gender inequality has commonly been linked to women’s childbearing capabilities citing the demands of childcare as a key reason for women’s withdrawal from and under-representation within the industry.”
Role models are needed in order to tackle this problem. Offering training and mentoring to young women will often help them secure a permanent role in the industry.
Luckily, there are now organisations that offer such support, one of them being OK Mentor.
OK Mentor provides free mentoring and training aimed at young women breaking into the creative industries and helping them succeed.
“The programme teaches practical business skills and personal development for self-starting individuals who want to establish themselves as a freelancer, employee or business owner.”
(Ok Mentor, 2021)
Founded by Liz Stone and Stefany Stanley, they offer annual seminars, monthly webinars as well as a 4-week online programme every spring and autumn, covering everything needed when starting out in the creative industries – portfolio development, CVs, pitching and financial management. It also hosts top female industry leaders as guest mentors.
OK Mentor proves to be not only a great resource to learn from but also the perfect networking place between fellow young women creatives.
I managed to catch up with two of the attendees of the Autumn 2020 seminar.
Vanessa Mountain is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Birmingham.
Could you give me some examples of the work you are most proud of?
I would probably say this collaboration I did with my friend Jack and my Quarantine Diary illustrations from last year.
What did you take away from the OK Mentor seminar?
I think it was really important to try and connect and stay connected with other people. It’s so easy to just do work and kind of forget the social aspect of design.
Being connected is relevant now more than ever. What would you say are some of the challenges presented to you thus far as a young creative?
I think maybe having the confidence to freelance and work remotely without being in person? In terms of applying for work and jobs, it’s always disheartening facing rejection. It often feels like being back at school.
How do you rise above that feeling?
It’s not easy. But trying to find likeminded people can help. Signing up to talks, signing up to go on random trips at university – I made so many friends that way, from all over the world. Some even referring me for collaborative and client work years later.
In terms of managing stress/negative thoughts – 10 years ago I started getting treatment and therapy for mental health and trauma. I had to take a lot of time off college, and subsequently take a gap year before attending university.
I didn’t really have a support system, and a lot of the people whose jobs it was to protect me, failed me. I wouldn’t say that it’s made me resilient, but it’s definitely made me know how much I can handle, and when to leave a negative situation.
My past experiences kind of prepared me to help others advocate for themselves. They also gave me the emotional intelligence to sort of compartmentalise situations, whether good or bad.
Vilte Svanyte is a creative based in Vilnius, Lithuania.
In terms of OK Mentor, would you say attending the seminar has had a positive impact on you? If so, how?
Yes, it definitely raised my spirits in terms of confidence. I was feeling quite low at that point as everything in the world felt so different, compared to last year. I was actually looking for a job around that time and it was really weighing me down. Hearing stories from other aspiring women in the field gave me that much-needed confidence boost and I scored a new job during the programme.
It also gave me a sense of reassurance. For example, I wasn’t sure how to ask certain financial questions in terms of my career, how to find a community, and how to strive as a young female just starting out. Hearing stories from other successful women in the industry made me understand that they all have started from a certain point, and it is ok to not know everything. Everything has a learning curve.
A lot of challenges were thrown at young creatives in the past year, especially presented by the pandemic. How was your experience?
I have left my corporate job a few months before the pandemic started. I was actually thinking about traveling a little, moving somewhere abroad to get my master’s degree and find new creative opportunities. However, this pandemic kind of changed everything. Seeing a lot of peers in the industry lose their jobs and move out of their houses was a difficult thing to deal with. I knew I had to change my plan.
On the other hand, I had an opportunity to work on self-development, and personal creative projects, which actually inspired two of my latest photoshoots: „Quarantine Dreams” and „Self-iso Portraits”.
This was a time to find new creative communities online, that I am so thankful for. I have also found a creative job that I love and made projects that I am really proud of.
Finally, do you have any advice on how to mute the white noise surrounding us constantly?
We’re actually on our third lockdown here, too. I would be lying if I said that it’s getting easier. I’m just trying to stay positive and not make this into a productivity challenge for myself. I am trying to focus on my mental health and sharpen my creative skills at home.
I am also trying to be more involved in various online collaborations around the world. I feel like it kind of opened a new world of opportunities. This experience has changed the world – digital art is on the rise and the lockdown made us all rethink what is actually needed to create.
On the other hand, I think this experience made me think more realistically and strive for more in life. I am actually excited about the future.
Feature image sourced through Pexels.