Parents, Carers and the Creative Arts: Why the PiPA Pledge Actually Matters

Every so often something happens in our sector that feels less like an announcement and more like a quiet shift in the weather. This month was one of those moments: PiPA (Parents and Carers in Performing Arts) marked its 10th anniversary by launching the PiPA Pledge (click here) – and 80 organisations have already signed up. That’s a sizeable chunk of the UK’s creative ecosystem saying: “Yes, this matters, and we’re going to do something about it.”

And it does matter. Because anyone who’s ever tried to juggle care-giving with a job in the creative arts knows the truth we rarely say out loud: the sector still tends to run as if nobody has responsibilities beyond being at your the venue. Or in the rehearsal room. Or the call time. You get the gist. And when you do have those responsibilities, you spend half your life feeling guilty for leaving early and the other half feeling guilty for arriving late when, actually, you are already working more hours than you are technically contracted to do.

What I like about the PiPA Pledge is that it isn’t a badge of honour. It’s a framework – a gentle but firm nudge that says: let’s build workplaces that aren’t hostile to the reality of caring for other human beings.

At its core, the pledge asks organisations to commit to five principles:

.... Recognise the barriers parents and carers face;

.... Champion their contribution as a source of creative strength;

.... Balance work and life through honest conversations and flexibility;

.... Evolve policy and practice rather than assuming one size fits all;

.... Celebrate the talent, imagination and perspectives that care-giving brings.

It sounds simple. But for a sector hooked on irregular hours, last-minute changes and heroic levels of personal sacrifice, this is actually a structural change. It’s a shift from whispering “sorry” - sorry I can’t stay late, I need to pick up the kids from after-school club; I have a parents’ evening to get to; an 8.30 meeting, OK, let me see if I can get someone else to..... you get the idea – to “this is how we can work now.”

What is good is that PiPA recognises there isn’t a universal fix. A dance company, a producing theatre, a touring orchestra… each has different rhythms and pressures. The pledge doesn’t prescribe; it supports. It creates space for organisations to find solutions that work for their context – whether that’s job-sharing, protected scheduling, realistic rota planning, parent-friendly auditions or simply giving managers the tools to plan for life events without panic.

I remember – quite a few years ago now, in fact more than I care to remember – after running an organisation as a carefree non-parent, a baby arrived. I assumed I’d improvise my way through it – like you do. But it was hard. Much harder than I’d expected. I felt pulled in two directions, constantly apologising in both. You end up apologising for leaving work early and then apologising again for being late home. That double-bind can so easily become the soundtrack of your life. But, we found a new approach which, ironically, was, with hindsight, much more time-productive and focused than before. Although - and as is definitely still the case today with younger colleagues I know well - we paid shedloads of money in childcare and occasionally experienced the sharp end of the tongue or chilling look of the childminder and the many and various baby-, toddler-, child-, not-quite-teenager-sitters.

Which is why this pledge feels so significant. It’s not about a special treatment – it’s about acknowledging reality. Parents and carers are everywhere in our industry: in tech teams, orchestras, costume departments, front of house, rehearsal rooms, board meetings… and pretending otherwise doesn’t make the work better; it just narrows who can stay in it. If we want the performing arts to be genuinely inclusive and sustainable, this is a tool for positive change. Not flashy stuff. Just operational, slightly unglamorous rethinking of how we look after each other while we make beautiful, demanding, time-intensive things.

The PiPA Pledge isn’t the finish line, but another building block that makes the art, and the people who make it, stronger and more sustainable.

So, if any of this resonates and it strikes a chord as you work to build healthier, more human working cultures, let’s talk. An outside eye from someone with a few decades of experience to draw on might just be useful.

Until next time.