Lola Ganzarolli Spearheads ‘Mums in Music’ Campaign
By Afton Markay(Photo credit: Gian Galeazzo)
New data released by the “Mums in Music” campaign, led by soprano Lola Ganzarolli, shows that the UK’s music sector is poorly rated for mothers returning to work.
Recently, the UK Omnibus Group conducted a study with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 women. They found that only 7% of UK women feel that the music industry is supportive of mother’s returning to the workplace. Research also revealed that journalism (6%) and the performing arts (8%) were bottom of the list of industries women feel mothers are able to easily return to, while healthcare (38%), education (35%) and retail (23%) were rated top among those surveyed for supporting their return to work after maternity leave.
Among the women surveyed working in the media, marketing, advertising, music, arts and creative industries, just one in four felt financially supported enough to return to work, while three in four worried that juggling both work and family will affect the success of their return. Specific barriers identified by two in five women working in the arts included a lack of accommodating measures from their workplace (40%), a lack of access to affordable childcare (40%), and the feeling that their employed treated them differently since becoming a mother (40%).
The “Mums in Music” campaign began in response to new government emphasis on increasing the workforce and the upcoming November budget which is expected to reveal an uptick in spending on health and social care. The “Mums in Music” initiative aims to make sure mothers are not left out of the conversation.
Ganzarolli commented in a press release, ‘They say it takes a village to raise a child, and very often in modern society we don’t have that village who are able to step in. For artists trying to continue their creative career after becoming mothers, a challenging journey is made more difficult by a lack of support from arts organisations. This represents a huge loss for the creative sector – the immense artistic growth women experience with motherhood should be celebrated. With Mums in Music, I hope to establish greater understanding of the needs of mothers returning to their creative careers and a stronger presence for mothers in the arts sphere.”
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