Equality

Female performing arts graduates' earnings outstrip their male counterparts' after five years.

The average salary for a female performing arts graduate is £21,900, rising from £14,200 in the first year after finishing their studies.

Whilst men earning more in the initial stage of their careers with an average salary of £14,300 in their first year, women earn more on average three years in - £18,300 compared to £17,500.

The opposite is true of creative arts and design graduates: females earn less than males from the get go - £16,400 on average compared to £16,800 in their first year working.

The gap grows with time, with men earning £23,400 on average after five years, £1,900 more than female creative arts graduates.

Creative arts, where 60% of graduates are women, provides the lowest financial returns of any course of study, analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows.

Xiaowei Xu, a Senior Research Economist at IFS, said women disproportionately chose subject with lower-paying career options.

"Of course, money isn’t – and shouldn’t be – the only factor when it comes to choosing what to study. But more needs to be done to inform young people about the financial consequences of degree choices, and to overcome gender stereotypes, so that women are not locked out of high-paying careers by choices at a young age.”

Performers face financial hardship if the Government proceeds with plans to cut a £20 per week Universal Credit uplift.

53% of Equity members in a new survey said the policy would hurt them.

41% said they would be unable to meet essential costs, with a third unable to continue seeking work in the industry.

Equity believes the cut will have an even more pronounced impact on younger talent, underrepresented groups and those from working class backgrounds.

"These changes to Universal Credit will plunge thousands of Equity members into poverty or force them to leave the profession,” Equity’s Lead Tax and Welfare Rights Official Alan Lean said.

The union has called on the Government to abandon the proposed cut, scheduled to come into effect October 6.
 

Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation says it will remove a statue of the London hospital's founder, Thomas Guy, to "a less prominent area" over his links to slavery.

It will need planning permission to do so - something its lawyers say is "very unlikely in the short to medium term due to planning legislation and political sentiment".

The plan for the listed statue conflicts with the Government's 'retain and explain' policy on contested heritage, and a final decision may lie in the hands of the Planning Minister, Robert Jenrick.

"Clearly, the minister is likely to give great weight to his policy which is not supportive of removing or otherwise altering the statue," the hospital's lawyers concluded, warning the removal plan may not succeed.

A consultation recommended the trust retain statues of Thomas Guy and historical benefactor Robert Clayton but provide information on how the men made their wealth. Clayton's statue will remain in place, as it's considered to be less prominent than Guy's.