PHASE 2
DEFINE + REFINE
Define and prioritise the needs and problems. Refine through further research.
Backcasting and transition design
Below: map of ideal future
The enormity of class inequality quickly became clear when we started our research and interviews. Pervasive and deeply ingrained, we didn’t know where we should begin. How do we start dismantling just one industry's class barriers when they intertwine with so many aspects of our lives?
Feeling overwhelmed, backcasting and transition design rescued us. These methods provide the following structure:
Imagining an ideal future and how it works
Working backwards from the ideal future and identifying steps required to make the vision happen
We organised half-day workshops - one mapping a future, another incorporating our interviewee insights, and a third imagining how we could achieve our future.
Right: backcasting diagram
Further research
Four insights from the interviews and workshops sparked our curiosity.
Working class advertising and media professionals / marketers felt less confident than their middle class peers.
Working class professionals felt diversity would only improve if hiring managers and agencies were held accountable for their hiring decisions.
Hiring managers told us they found it a big challenge getting working class talent into ‘the pool’.
Other sectors which seemed to be more equitable placed greater emphasis on technical skills.
We wanted to understand more about three areas, and so did an industry sweep of:
Advertising and media as a career - how did people get into the industry?
Networks available for working class professionals in the sector.
Alternative qualifications or training for entry into and progression in the industry.