An Interview with Pocc Co-Founder, Nana Bempah
By Maansi Kalyan
It’s a common assumption that the creative industries are home to the most diverse workforces: anyone can be creative, right?
Since creativity is more about showing what you can do rather than how well you interview, it’s also widely perceived that recruitment processes for creative jobs are far more inclusive - after all, the component agencies are looking for above all else is talent.
But underneath the perfect veneer of diverse ‘Join Our Team’ pages and stock photo-esque snaps of gender-balanced offices is a dirty secret that’s gone unnoticed for quite some time: the creative industries are widely, much like every other industry in the UK, male-dominated and difficult to navigate through if you are a person of colour.
Only 13% of people in the creative field are minorities, and only 1 in 10 of minorities occupy a leadership position within it.
There are more stats where that came from - but don’t just hear it from us.
Nana Bempah, Executive Producer and Co-Founder of Pocc - a creative network for ethnic minorities that’s driving cultural reformation in the industry - joined us earlier this month to discuss the microaggressions she’s personally faced numerous times since she first entered the workplace, how these spurred her on to co-found Pocc, what she’s been doing since and why ‘Diversity & Inclusion’ just isn’t a thing.
Nana also discussed the ‘Angry Black Woman’ label, which she covered in her contribution to Amazon Bestseller ‘The Millennial Black’. The Sophie Williams-written book, a ‘roadmap’ for young black women to succeed professionally amidst the discrimination they face, is a must-read that we highly recommend for everyone.
Catch the full conversation below, follow Pocc on socials and let us know what you think…