The British media regulator Ofcom’s annual report on the diversity of the TV and radio workforce for 2021-2022 has been released and the news is only partly good.
The report is based on diversity data, submitted voluntarily, from eight major companies representing around 90% of UK broadcasters’ employees – Power, BBC, Channel 4, Global, ITV, Paramount (which includes Channel 5), S4C and STV.
The report concluded that the overall representation of ethnic minorities across the workforce in broadcasters rose to 15% of workers. This exceeds representation in the working-age population in the UK (13%) but remains lower in major cities where a number of such broadcasters are present (London 37% and Manchester 28%). The report noted that representation of people from ethnic minority backgrounds at the senior management level also increased to 9%, despite the need for continuous improvement.
However, persons with disabilities remain significantly underrepresented, making up only 9% of all workers and 8% of senior managers, compared to 21% of the working-age population in the UK; The report also found that people from working-class backgrounds are underrepresented. About 13% of staff attended a private school, compared to 7% of the working-age population in the UK, and 62% of staff had parents in a professional occupation when they were 14, against the UK standard of 33%.
Beginning next year, Ofcom is expanding the data it collects annually from television and radio broadcasters to help them advance equality, diversity and inclusion across the broadcasting industry. Starting in the spring of 2023, Ofcom will launch a new data collection toolkit for broadcasters that includes: a new Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion self-assessment tool for collecting and evaluating qualitative data; Expandable and easy-to-use questionnaire to collect quantitative data; and updated guidelines for broadcasters, including specific recommendations on overall business practices.
“With more and more people leaving the television and radio industry, the progress made in recent years to increase diversity will not be sustainable – unless greater efforts are made to retain, rather than simply attract, a diverse set of employees at all levels,” Ofcom said in a statement. “Thus, our approach is very focused on advancing equality and inclusion, and helping broadcasters to include diversity at all levels of their organizations.”
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