In the UK, Unilever is partnering with us at Evenbreak, to help connect people interested in exploring a career in advertising production with relevant people in the industry. Candidates can register their interest in becoming a mentee on a production below.
By being involved you are helping to increase diverse and authentic representation of people with disabilities in the commercial production industry, whilst being exposed to and participating in this exciting and creative industry!
Register to be a mentee in Unilever’s creative industries here.
Unilever has launched a new toolkit to promote inclusive recruitment and roles in the production and media industry. The Commercially Inclusive Toolkit will provide Unilever’s production companies and creative agencies with an essential resource to help guide teams to become more inclusive and disability confident.
The toolkit was created in collaboration with Bus Stop Films and Taste Creative; co-founders of Inclusively Made; and with a combined 20 years of experience in inclusive filmmaking. The step-by-step guide aims to enable creatives, filmmakers, production companies, and creatives at all levels of the industry to ensure their production practice is more inclusive and that disabled people are better represented in stories about them.
Dana Cadden, Global Head of Advertising Production at Unilever, commented: “We are committed to changing the way we operate on commercial productions to ensure we harness all the great talent from the disabled community. Whilst we still have much to learn, if more brands can make their production sets more inclusive, they will not only create more opportunities for persons with disabilities, but also benefit immensely from the creativity they will bring to our industry.”
The toolkit explains the social model of disability, and why the toolkit is needed. Methods and research are featured on how best to create more inclusion in media, arts, education, and filmmaking through leadership practices. Barriers to inclusion and making adjustments in the workplace are discussed, along with advice on how to engage with the disability community. The toolkit highlights how essential it is for disabled people to be involved in all aspects of production.
A plethora of advice is included in the toolkit, such as a Head of Department guide detailing suggested roles and responsibilities for each creative department. This details handy tips on how to support a person with a disability in each department on set, arranged alphabetically from 1st Assistant Director through to Wardrobe Department.
Educational resources are provided, along with links to videos and further reading. The guide emphasises the end goal of driving social change in relation to disability, with integration being the norm, and decision-making framed through a lens of access and inclusion. Jane Hatton, CEO and Founder of Evenbreak, said “We were delighted to be involved with developing this important toolkit, and congratulate Unilever on this initiative”.
The toolkit has been launched in conjuction with Unilever’s ‘Believe in Talent’ campaign as part of its Act 2 Unstereotype initiative. Research released by Unilever reveals disabled content creator’s perceptions and experiences of the advertising industry; a wopping 73% of disabled content creators feel the industry is exclusionary of them. Unilever’s initiative aims to get more persons with a disability working behind the camera in advertising production, by tapping into multi-skilled, online content creators from the disabled community.
