THE CULTURE minister has been forced to apologise over a UK Government advert which suggests dancers 'reboot' their careers and retrain for IT jobs.
Oliver Dowden, who announced extra financial support for the culture sector this morning, posted an apology about the advert on social media.
He said it was "crass" and "not something from" the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The advert depicts a ballet dancer called Fatima, with the phrase: "Fatima's next job could be in cyber (she just doesn't know it yet)."
Other adverts from the 'Rethink.Reskill.Reboot' campaign also show a man in a coffee shop, and a woman in a clothes shop, with the same slogan.
The 'Fatima' advert has sparked outrage at a time when the culture and arts industries are some of the hardest hit from the pandemic. Cinemas, theatres and clubs are all struggling to survive in the wake of the pandemic, impacting jobs across the sector.
Mr Dowden tweeted about the advert this morning, saying: "To those tweeting re #Fatima - This is not something from @DCMS & I agree it was crass.
"This was a partner campaign encouraging people from all walks of life to think about a career in cyber security.
"I want to save jobs in the arts which is why we are investing £1.57bn."
To those tweeting re #Fatima
— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) October 12, 2020
This is not something from @DCMS & I agree it was crass
This was a partner campaign encouraging people from all walks of life to think about a career in cyber security
I want to save jobs in the arts which is why we are investing £1.57bn
It comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak's comments on the arts last week, where he said: "I can’t pretend that everyone can do exactly the same job that they were doing at the beginning of this crisis. And that’s why we’ve put a lot of our extra resource into trying to create new opportunities for people”.
Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour MP and shadow cabinet minister for Mental Health, was among those enraged by the advert.
She said: "Fatima, you be you. Don't let anyone else tell you that you aren't good enough because you don't conform to their preconceived social norms."
Others said the advert was "sickening" while some Twitter users thought it was initially supposed to be a joke.
One person commented: "The annoying thing for me (as a career transition coach) is how tin-eared these adverts are.
"HMG has in house career transition coaches and should know better.
"You'd never patronise a client in this judgemental way. It implies their existing career is relatively worthless."
Why can't her career be in the arts? Oh yeah, this government doesn't think an entire industry is "viable"
— Kevin Copestake (@copey33) October 12, 2020
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