Elizabeth J. Birch has been a musician for a decade, has won several awards, and loves her job. However, she continues to feel like an outsider in a competitive and precarious industry. As a wheelchair user, she commonly experiences accessibility barriers at venues, but there's a more pressing issue - tokenism. Birch tells Sky News: 'While it's not explicitly stated that it's tokenistic, it feels tokenistic because need a certain amount of disabled people on their board.
' Among other key findings, the Musicians' Census identified the following areas of concern when it comes to financial security, fair pay, and discrimination in the workplace: • On average there is a £4,400 pay gap between disabled and non-disabled musicians• The gap widens a further £1,700 for musicians with mental health conditions and/or neurodivergent profiles• 27% of disabled musicians said they had experienced racism, compared with 7% of non-disabled musicians• 73% of...