Disability, accessibility and the fight to get to Cannes
A recent LinkedIn post from Kelly Gordon about her inability to attend the Cannes Lions due to her wheelchair use has seen a deluge of questions and many offers of help. Here, Gordon, a Co-Founder of With Not For, and her business partner Emma Gardner, talk about the issues around disability in the workplace, the struggle to make it to the Croisette, and what you can do to help.
)
When Alex Hedges, an advertising production recruiter and founder of Curious Connections, saw Kelly Gordon's LinkedIn post about potentially missing Cannes, she felt immediate frustration.
"It’s infuriating," Hedges replied, "that everyone else will be posting pictures of themselves having rosé on yachts while you can't even get there."
Gordon, along with Emma Gardner, is the Co-Founder of With Not For, a disability founded talent and production agency that exclusively represents disabled creatives and which is on a mission to bring more disabled talent into creative work places.
Using a wheelchair means that getting to Cannes is both more expensive and much more complex that for those who are non-disabled.
Both Gordon and Gardner are disabled, with Gordon also a full-time wheelchair user, and using a wheelchair means that getting to Cannes is both more expensive and much more complex than for those who are non-disabled.
Above: Gordon's initial post on LinkedIn created attention and persuaded Alex Hedges to get involved.
As a recruiter who places production talent across the advertising industry, Hedges has been working hard to include disabled producer candidates in her long lists – but it's slow going. Part of the challenge is her access to suitable candidates, which she's actively working to improve through her partnership with With Not For. But there's also another barrier; many of her clients struggle to understand how accessibility accommodations would work in practice.
Seeing Gordon's dilemma she took up the mantle to attempt to ensure Gordon's and With Not For’s presence at this year's Cannes Lions, helping to launch and promote a Just Giving page with the goal to raise enough money to allow Gordon to attend the festival and find accommodation with the relevant amenities.
Below, Gordon and Gardner explain more about the push for disability inclusion and representation, why it's important that With Not For is in attendance at the Cannes Lions, and what you can do to help.
Can you tell us a bit more about With Not For, what it does and why it's needed?
EG: With Not For is a disabled owned and led talent and production agency that exclusively represent disabled creatives. We are on a mission to change the narrative within media and advertising when it comes to disability inclusion and representation, supporting agencies and brands to work with and not for disabled people.
KG: With Not For is needed now more than ever - the disabled community is a marginalised group that still rarely has ownership or input into how we are portrayed, which products are created for us and how our voices and images are used. Disabled people deserve to be in charge of their own narratives and we represent everyone from creatives, photographers and directors, to producers, runners and researchers that have the skills and experience to fulfil roles during campaign/production processes. We work with clients from script to screen to ensure that representation is authentic, products are researched, wanted and needed by the community, and most importantly that no one is speaking on behalf of us or for us.
Above: Emma Gardner and Kelly Gordon, Co-Founders of With Not For.
Do you have any information on how many people with disabilities work within advertising and the creative industries?
EG: We know from the most recent Major Players creative industries census that there has been a 5% decrease in the number of individuals in the creative industries identifying as disabled, neurodivergent and/or with a mental health condition, now representing just under a quarter (24%) of professionals.
The data shows that they are, on average, paid up to £6,459 less in permanent salaries, and £21 less in day rates. This represents 9.6% and 5% pay gaps - which have grown since last year, in addition to less representation. The latest All In Census also tells us that 16% of disabled people are likely to leave the industry due to lack of inclusion and/or discrimination.
Why aren't people with disabilities represented more within the creative industries?
KG: We hear a lot of people say that the talent doesn’t exist. It used to get said about disabled on screen talent, but now look at the likes of Ruth Madeley and George Robinson and how they’ve excelled within their fields, and that’s just to name a few! We have the talent, but outdated processes and phrases like “this is the way it has always been done” often get in the way of vital progress.
Diversity in teams leads to better creativity and innovation.
Diversity in teams leads to better creativity and innovation. Most importantly, it allows for new stories to be told, which is why we need more disabled creatives embedded into the creative industry and included within accessible production processes.
Above: George Robinson [right] has starred in shows such as Sex Education, Silo and Perfect.
Do you think that recent pushes for diversity within work forces has often been aimed at diversity outside of those with disabilities?
KG: I think that efforts are still needed across the board, we can always do better and be better, but when 67% of people admit to feeling awkward starting conversations with disabled people it’s obvious that we still have a very long way to go on this journey.
[Cannes] is a creative hotbed and a place of opportunity... if you can access it.
Disabled people are often denied opportunity due to lack of access, and sometimes that even becomes an excuse to exclude us, but it is really time to move past that.
EG: Something else to note is that disability is the only group/community that you can become a part of at any time. You can be disabled as any gender, as any race or religion, with any background or sexuality, and disabled people make up one in four of us, that is 25% of people.
Why is it important that you be present in Cannes and, if you're able to go, what are your main objectives when there?
KG: Our main objectives as a business are the same as every other creative organisation heading to Cannes; to network, make meaningful connections and to be inspired by industry leaders and innovators at the events. It's a creative hotbed and a place of opportunity... if you can access it.
It's important for me to be there because I’m the 'closer'. I love starting and nourishing relationships and building new partnerships! Emma handles our strategic networking and delivery, and we are a team with different parts to play. We both want, need and deserve to be there.
Above: Gordon would like to be in Cannes but her use of a wheelchair makes her journey and accommodation much more difficult.
What can people do to help both with Kelly's push to attend this year's Cannes, and with inclusivity in general?
EG: People can donate the price of a glass of rosé at the Carlton (or a bottle if they prefer!) to the campaign, or we’re asking that they share with their wider networks to draw attention to the significant tax that comes with being disabled and using a mobility aid.
KG: Some people don’t realise that there are so many extra costs that come with being disabled (approx £1k per month more than non-disabled households), especially now with the threat to PIP benefits [the benefit in place to address the extra cost associated with being disabled] for so many across the UK.
Some people don’t realise that there are so many extra costs that come with being disabled.
In terms of inclusivity, in general it is vital that companies work with, feature and pay disabled talent, remembering that disabled people do not just need to work across campaigns that are disability specific but that all campaigns can benefit from lived experience and fresh perspective.
