The Network of Women in Events (NOWIE) has launched a research survey that aims to better
understand the challenges faced by women in the events industry.
Established in 2013, NOWIE has recently transitioned to a
Community Interest Company, and is striving to create better opportunities for
women in the events sector, at all stages of their careers, through networking,
community initiatives, and creating better opportunities for women (by women).
This latest initiative will explore issues such as
gender discrimination, sexual harassment and family planning, to drive
meaningful change in the sector. The anonymous survey has been supported by the
Events Industry Forum (EIF) and The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA)
and invites women in the industry to share their experiences, providing
invaluable insights to help NOWIE advocate for a more inclusive, supportive,
and equitable environment. The findings will shape future support and policies,
ensuring women in events can thrive professionally.
For the past 10 years, NOWIE has championed gender equality
in the events industry, whether by creating its own guidelines outlining equitable
pay expectations, sharing the stories and insights of women in events, or creating opportunities for women to develop networks, mentorship and community.
NOWIE director, Cat Kevern said: “The problem is that we
just aren’t seeing enough progress. For all the time, effort and dedication the
NOWIE team invests, we have always been limited by a lack of resources. With
our recent relaunch and transition to a Social Enterprise, we are excited to
have the capacity to establish projects like the Big Survey, which will enable
us to start driving real change.
“Even as we were designing the survey, we were shocked to
realise just how little research exists into the experiences of women in
events,” continues Kevern, “especially when we consider that women outnumber
men in this industry! Unfortunately, what we do know is that, on a wider scale,
women are still being paid less than men - a disparity which increases with age
- are still underrepresented in senior leadership roles, still get fewer
promotions, and still undertake a disproportionate percentage of care responsibilities
(Office for National Statistics, 2022).
“The Big Survey will allow us to target our efforts at NOWIE
towards the specific issues most affecting our community. It will also enable
us to demonstrate the scale of these issues to others, helping us garner more
support, funding and inspire policy change in these areas. We plan to
distribute the survey annually, meaning we can monitor progress year on year.”
Silvana Kill, director of operations NTIA said: "The
NTIA are extremely proud to work in partnership with NOWIE to create this
survey. We hope to gain some critical insight and understand how best we can
support women in our industries. Never has there been a more important time
than now to join forces and support diversity, inclusion and the wellbeing of
women within the events industry workforce."
The survey is fully anonymised and asks participants to
share their workplace experiences, covering topics ranging from experiences of
workplace harassment to childcare and maternity, pay, career opportunities and
more.
Women from all areas of the events sector are invited to
complete the survey which is available for submissions now and can be accessed
at https://www.nowie.org/big-survey.
