Today the BBC opens a consultation to ask for your views about our ongoing diversity work.
As a body funded by licence fee payers, the BBC is continually finding ways to talk to and involve the widest possible range of audiences including under-served communities. Asking people to tell us how well they think we serve and reflect specific groups within society and acting on that feedback is part and parcel of that.
People's views contribute to raising awareness around what is meaningful and distinctive to different groups and to driving creative ideas.
Ultimately, we want to inform the production and editorial decisions that influence how and to what extent the breadth of UK diversity is represented on screen. Thinking about, including and reflecting our diversity helps us tell the most original and compelling stories.
Working towards those aims, we also want a workforce that is as diverse as modern Britain and we have developed a plan to achieve that - but we want to hear what our staff and the public think about our direction.
At the beginning of October, the main provisions of the Equality Act came into force. The Equality Act 2010 consolidates a patchwork of previous legislation into one Act to simplify the law. The Equality Act 2010 is wide reaching and provides a clear framework which will protect more people from discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation in a number of key areas.
In addition, in April next year the Public Sector Equality Duty element of the Act will be enforced. This means that along with other public bodies, the BBC will need to show how it has considered active steps to advance equality, eliminate discrimination and foster good relations between people from different groups across various activities and functions. Speaking to the public and listening to their views and concerns is a vital part of this activity.
We're want to consult with you on the BBC's broad ambitions on diversity and to ask what you think of our plans. In much the same way we recently asked people for their views on disability and other diversity issues.
We want you to tell us what you expect of the BBC in relation to equality and diversity, and how well you think we're doing. We're interested to hear what you think of the areas we've prioritised and your contributions to this dialogue.
For the BBC, diversity is about harnessing greater creativity to make the most original and distinctive programmes which reflect the full diversity of society. We're best placed to do that if we understand our audiences and employ the most talented staff from the broadest range of backgrounds. Have a look at some recent examples of our programmes to see how we're striving to reflect the breadth and depth of diversity in the UK.
Don't forget to take part and tell us what you think - our consultation closes on January 7th 2011.
Amanda Rice is the BBC's Head of Diversity
This year, as part of the BBC's diversity strategy, we carried out research and consultation on the portrayal of lesbian, gay and bisexual people across broadcast media including the BBC. Read about the research.
- Read the Press Release.
- See the BBC Archive's collection on the Gay Rights movement.
- Read Tim Davie's blog posts about the portrayal of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in broadcasting.
