Ofcom: Women still make up less than half of UK TV and radio industry

Ofcom has called ob broadcasters to accelerate progress across three priority areas.

By Jenny Priestley

Published: November 25, 2020

Ofcom has called ob broadcasters to accelerate progress across three priority areas.

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New figures from Ofcom reveal women and people from a minority ethnic background are still under represented in the UK's TV and radio workforce.

In its annual Diversity Report, Ofcom found women make up 48 per cent of the workforce, and minority ethnic people equate for 14 per cent. Both figures have seen a slight increase from 2018/19.

The report also found:

Only 7 per cent of TV employees are disabled, compared with 19% of the working age population, with little sign of improvement in recent years.

Just 8 per cent of senior management roles in TV are occupied by minority ethnic colleagues, compared with 12 per cent of the working population and 35 per cent across the London workforce.

Only 1 per cent of senior managers working in TV are Black, despite Black colleagues making up 3 per cent of the national working population.

Ofcom said it wants to see faster progress in three priority areas - increasing the proportion of underrepresented groups in the industry; senior accountability for setting and delivering against diversity objectives; and better information and representation around social class and geography.

Vikki Cook, Ofcom director of Broadcasting Policy, said: The door to the broadcast industry should be wide open to everyone, regardless of what part of the country you come from, or what school you went to.

We're calling on major broadcasters to look beyond London and attract the best talent from a range of areas and backgrounds, so the programmes they make feel relevant to every part of society.

The full Ofcom report can be found here.

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