London, [11th February 2025] – The UK’s creative industries are booming, contributing £124 billion to the economy in 2024, and has grown by 6% since 2019. But despite this growth working-class representation in the industry is in decline.
Today, Creative Mentor Network (CMN) released its latest Impact Report, revealing a troubling drop in socioeconomic diversity in the UK creative industries amid their work. According to figures from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), working-class representation across the creative industry has fallen from 26% in 2020 to just 19% in 2023.
Data from 2024 highlights how the charity is tackling this crisis through mentoring, industry partnerships, and direct support for young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Over the last year, the charity:
- Supported 317 young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds through mentoring
- Ran 14 mentoring programmes with 50 leading creative businesses
- Facilitated 1,676 professional connections for aspiring creatives
- Helped 129 mentees gain work experience or employment
CMN’s CEO, Katie Thomson-Greene, is calling on the industry to take action:
“The UK creative industries are thriving, yet fewer young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are getting a foot in the door. The class ceiling isn’t just unfair, it’s holding back innovation and creativity. Our data proves that mentoring works, but real change needs a collective effort from industry leaders, businesses, and policymakers.”
Through their programmes, CMN saw young people from their programmes increase their knowledge of roles and career paths in the creative industry, understand the companies that are right for them, and gain the confidence to see this as a pathway for them.
A call for systemic change
CMN is urging creative companies to:
✅ Invest in socioeconomic diversity initiatives
✅ Rethink hiring practices to break down barriers to entry
✅ Support mentoring and training programmes that support new talent
The full Creative Mentor Network Impact Report 2024 is available here: www.creativementornetwork.org/impact
