Disability, Diversity, Gender Representation in Senior U.K. TV Roles Remains Low, Report Reveals
variety.comNaman Ramachandran The Creative Diversity Network’s fifth annual report on inclusivity in the U.K. TV industry shows a marginal improvement in diversity representation, but not in senior roles, while disability representation remains poor.
Diamond is a single online system used by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, ViacomCBS, UKTV and Sky to obtain consistent diversity data on programs they commission.
The Diamond report notes that “despite well-meaning initiatives across the industry and improvements in some areas, there is still a lack of real progress in terms of increasing representation by previously (and currently) under-represented groups.”Of particular concern is disability, with representation by disabled people both on and off-screen remaining consistently lower across all genres, all broadcasters, and all job roles than the 18% of the U.K.
population who declare a disability. Disabled people are making fewer than 6% of contributions across most senior roles and over the past three years, there has been a decrease in contributions by disabled people in the roles of director, producer-director and producer. “There appears to be nowhere in the industry where disabled people thrive,” the report notes.
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