Q&A: Dr Kathryn Williams

HF: How did the Dignity at Work reports come about?

KW: In the wake of the #MeToo movement in 2017, the ISM legal team began recieving a higher volume of calls from members, predominantly women, who wanted to share their experiences of inappropriate and sometimes unlawful behaviour in the workplace. In that year, the legal team saw a tripling of their cases to do with discrimination – this could mean anything from sexual harassment to maternity or disability discrimination. The ISM investigated the prevalence of discrimination in the profession and higher education, launching its Dignity at Work and Dignity in Study reports in 2018. The plan has always been to revisit the workplace research four years later.

HF: What research did you undertake for Dignity at Work 2?

KW: We started with a survey, open from May to June, to anybody that worked in the music sector. We heard from many different types of jobs, which is fantastic. Educators represented 61 per cent of respondents, but we also had DJs, artists, managers, publishers and so on. It wasn't just quantitative data, because people could also leave comments on different questions, so there was also qualitative analysis where we picked up themes of discrimination. In response to the findings, we have launched a campaign called #Dignity2Work and resources to support branches of the music sector and protect workers.

HF: In education, what were your key findings?

KW: The number of those who faced discrimination in the education category was 65 per cent, which is huge. Of those who did experience discrimination in the field of education, 78 per cent said they didn't report it, making it the third highest category for not reporting things – the highest being exam board staff and group performers. The lack of reporting issues might be because of the culture of the institution they work at, because they didn't have anyone to tell, or because the individual was afraid of victimisation and losing work in the future.

Our 2018 research found that similarly high levels of discrimination were seen in higher education training, and we definitely see this as a cyclical problem that can be observed during HE training or even younger. Little comments like saying ‘flutes are for girls; trumpets are for boys’ really sink in and perpetuate a culture of acceptance in education. The lack of repercussions is observed from childhood, and then this is seen as accepted in the workplace where perpetrators get away with their behaviour – something that occurs time and time again.

HF: How can we change things?

KW: In the report, we have divided our recommendations up and given six to government and four to the sector. Especially with our current government, it is unclear on their stance and timescale for strengthening workers’ rights, but we will continue to campaign for vital legislative change. We believe that important changes can be made in the sector in the meantime. The endemic scale of unacceptable behaviour and the culture of fear that stops people reporting it has been a normalised part of working in music for too long.

We don't want to be publishing reports every year saying how scandalously unsafe it can be for workers, especially freelancers. There are other sectors who are moving forward and are implementing better practices and we can learn from them.

Membership organisations should utilise codes of conduct, like the ISM does, where the member agrees to conduct themselves in a way that doesn't discriminate against their colleagues or anyone they meet professionally. All music workplaces need written policies to fall back on that clearly define what behaviours are unacceptable at work, and that apply to everyone.

HF: What advice would you give those who have faced discrimination?

KW: Having been a VMT myself, I totally understand how hard it is. You are extraordinarily lucky if you have a supportive headteacher, and oftentimes music teachers are left on their own in quite a vulnerable position. If this is the case, I would ask readers to refer to MT's great column that Nerys Owen wrote in June about teachers’ worker employment status. Many teachers and schools don't understand how complex it can be to determine whether a VMT is genuinely self-employed or if they are owed a higher duty of care. We know that educators are busy enough and it's very stressful being a teacher, but I encourage them to arm themselves with the information that we've produced and will continue to share with them. If anyone would like to share their experiences, I urge them to contact the ISM and its supportive legal team, or access the #Dignity2Work resources.

Contact the ISM at membership@ism.org.

Find the ISM column by Nerys Owen on our website. 

Read the full Dignity at Work 2 report online.