Barbican Commits to Increase Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Following Report Findings

Following several accusations of discrimination, the Barbican underwent an external review, commissioned by the City of London. Now, the findings have been published.

According to the investigation, the theatre exhibited "a lack of diversity in the organisation, an absence of confidence in HR systems and in the handling of complaints and in managers to deal with or take seriously concerns of racism".

Recommendations have been made to the Barbican's board about how to move forward.

The theatre has responded with a statement, saying, "We're committed to acting on the findings and recommendations of both reports which will help us to evolve our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, and to change the culture of the organisation to provide a safe environment for staff, audiences, artists and partners of all backgrounds."

Read the full statement below:

Today (Tue 9 Nov) we received the findings of the External Review that was commissioned by the City of London on the recommendation of the Barbican Board. The External Review was undertaken by independent lawyers Lewis Silkin LLP, a leading employment and equalities law specialists, after current and former colleagues of staff documented experiences of racism in their publication Barbican Stories in June 2021.

We welcome both the External Review and a separate HR Audit, also commissioned by the City of London. Both reports, a combined action plan and next steps can be found here: External Review, HR Audit and Tackling Racism Action Plan.

We're committed to acting on the findings and recommendations of both reports which will help us to evolve our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, and to change the culture of the organisation to provide a safe environment for staff, audiences, artists and partners of all backgrounds.

In the immediate term, it is our priority to support all our employees through this process and we're offering a range of support services including confidential and safe counselling sessions.

It's our ambition to create a truly inclusive and diverse organisation and we're sorry for the pain and distress experienced by those who shared their lived experiences through Barbican Stories and the External Review.

Since June 2021, under new leadership, we've already taken critical, foundational steps to progress our work around equity, diversity and diversity. This is just the start, and we recognise there's so much more to do if we are to become an organisation where all can truly belong. Our progress to date can be read below.