Generator Insight: Building a Music Industry That Works for Parents

Earlier this week, Generator was announced as the latest programme partner of Parents and Carers in Performing Arts, something which makes me enormously proud, both professionally and personally. PiPA’s mission and values are close to my heart, and our joining is something I pushed for strongly.

I first became aware of PiPA when I was General Manager at balletLORENT. A forward-thinking dance company based in the west end of Newcastle, balletLORENT has long championed dancers from all backgrounds, and has made work specifically designed to include both new parents, and pregnant people.

I found their heartfelt and active support for working parents refreshing, especially as it brought the failures of the UK’s parental leave system into stark contrast. An area where much-needed governmental reform is painfully slow, our paternity pay is the worst in Europe, and 21 European countries offer better maternity pay than us. This short, unequal, and poorly paid leave reinforces outdated gender roles, separates new parents from their babies, negatively impacts parental mental health, limits support for new mothers when they are at their most vulnerable, and likely stunts child development.  

And once new parents choose to go back to work, things don’t get any easier. The UK is ranked among the most expensive OECD countries for childcare, with middle-income families spending between 15 and 25% of their take-home pay on nursery fees. For most working people, one child in nursery full time is the equivalent of taking out a second mortgage.

In this failing system, trying to parent and work a standard 9-5 job is hard enough. But when you're working in the creative industries, with unsociable hours and even fewer boundaries between on and off the clock, it's even harder. PiPA’s own research has found that:

-Parents and carers working in the Performing Arts face a pay penalty of £7000 on average per year compared to their peers who don’t have caring responsibilities.

-88% of parents and carers in Performing Arts have had to turn down work because of their caring responsibilities.

-73% of freelancers say working in the Performing Arts affects their decision-making about starting a family.

This is why Generator becoming a PiPA programme partner is so important. Organisations like ours visibly backing improved support for parents and carers can kickstart change in the music industry. By actively practicing, not just preaching, we stand a better chance of seeing better parental leave sooner; seeing stronger rights enshrined in law for freelancers with caring responsibilities; and a wider adoption of better standards across the board.

But Generator can’t do it alone. We will only enact meaningful change if the whole sector pulls in the same direction, actively improving our own practices, and advocating for others to follow our lead. If we want a truly inclusive music sector, one that breaks barriers, drives cultural change, and creates space for new voices, we have to back parents and carers in the same way that we already back other groups who face huge barriers to access. 

More organisations becoming PiPA programme partners would be a great first step in that journey.

Thomas Bagnall - Head of Programmes, Generator