Negotiating inequalities: understanding the lived experiences of women of African and Caribbean heritage working in the creative industries

My proposed research seeks to examine how the systematic in e q u alit y o f a c c e s s a n d b a r rie r s t o e n g a g e m e n t in t h e dis ciplin e s o f t h e c r e a tiv e in d u s t rie s h a s a ffe c t e d B M E in divid u als ( A r t s C o u n cil E n gla n d, 2 0 1 3; N e w bigin, 2 0 1 0 ). S p e cific ally, I a m interested in the ways that BME women of African and Caribbean heritage have negotiated inequality and their experiences of marginalisation. I plan to use the le n s o f in t e r s e c tio n alit y ( C r e n s h a w, 1 9 8 9; H o o k s, 1 9 9 2; L o r d e, 1 9 8 4 ) t o e x a min e t h e wa y s in w hic h t h eir e x p e rie n c e s h a v e b e e n s h a p e d b y t h eir e t h nicit y, a g e, g e n d e r, race and class (Patricia Hill Collins, 2016: Mirza, 2014). The research aims to contribute to a broader understanding of BME women's varied employment rates and career progression within the creative industries (Hesmondhalgh, 2008), and potentially explain why 'opportunities and reward' for BME women are unevenly distributed socially, politically and demographically (Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013)