Today Event First Steps have launched a second survey as part of their ongoing, sector wide research into Racial Diversity in the Events Industry. This is a follow up to their successful first survey and is supported by Dr. Caroline Jackson of BVEP, and data analyst Nigel Williams.
Event First Steps was founded by Elena Clowes, Caitlin Kobrak and Priya Narain - and aims to help industry newcomers navigate and find their place within the events world. The trio initiated this diversity research project at the end of 2020, as they saw that no attempt had been made to do so beforehand within industry - they wanted to push their colleagues to walk the walk, instead of paying lip service to such an important matter.
Clowes says: ‘The first survey was a great start, but we knew going into it that it wouldn’t be a one time thing. Diversity is something that has always been an important focus for us at Event First Steps - we are passionate about having open conversations on the topic, and being part of the change. We are determined to help to create a better, more inclusive industry for the next generation of event professionals.’
‘Last year we saw a big focus on racial diversity for a few months across the industry’, adds Narain. ‘A lot of corporate statements and think pieces around the topic, which was great... but we are all painfully aware that making a difference in this area takes much longer and much more than an Instagram post or two, it requires deeper change. We are hoping the results of this year's survey show some marked improvement in our sector’.
Previously the survey drew in results from hundreds of event professionals - largely from the UK but with some insights from across the globe too. The team are hoping to double the respondent rate this year to help give an even bigger picture on the current state of the industry, and show the next focus areas for improvement.
One such area, as Kobrak notes, is around policy: ‘The previous survey results showed that 50% of respondents did not know of any policies or statements in place from their employers on diversity and inclusion - and we are really keen to see if there is a change here or not. Speaking to our industry partners around the UK, we knew that the intention was there to make a difference, so we would love to see some big changes to reflect that. It’s not only important for our current industry, but especially for the next wave of event professionals that we know are waiting in the wings.’
The survey is available HERE, and the Event First Steps team are asking anyone involved in the events industry to take part, no matter their role or seniority. Once the results are in, key takeaways and action points will be made widely available.
For any more information about the survey, or to talk to Event First Steps more about how they can help to make change in your workplace, contact them at
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Survey link here: https://eventfirststeps.typeform.com/RacialDiversity
Event First Steps is an non-for-profit initiative encouraging event industry newcomers to forge their own career path. https://www.eventfirststeps.com
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