With recent statistics suggesting that only a fraction of people from ethnic backgrounds are employed in the culture sector, Arts Council England (ACE) has allocated £5.3m (US$6.9m, €6.2m) to help cultural organisations boost levels of diversity within their respective institutions.

The funding, which aims to boost diversity across the sector, has awarded grants to forty black and minority ethnic or disability-led organisations to help them increase staff capacity, generate new revenue sources and make significantly stronger applications for other investment programmes.

According to statistics supplied by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to Attractions Management, within the employment sector covering arts, entertainment and recreation, 93 per cent of employees are classed as white, with the remaining 7 per cent made up of ethnic minorities.

These statistics appear to correlate with a report released earlier this month by the Museums Association (MA), which said that discrimination within the museums sector is negatively affecting workforce diversity, leading to people leaving the field at mid-career level, while an “unconscious bias” is impacting recruitment-related decisions and individual salary, as well as investment into employee’s ongoing development once part of an organisation.

The grants ranged from £100,000 (US$130,000, €116,000) to £150,000 (US$195,000, €174,500) with an initial £2.1m (US$2.7m, €2.4m) fund boosted by National Lottery funding based on the strength and volume of applications.

The awards were handed out as part of ACE’s Elevate fund, which aims to strengthen the resilience of art organisations which are not receiving National Portfolio funding, but which demonstrate that they make a significant contribution to the creative case for diversity.