Diversity includes everyone

Today the BBC has published its new strategy on diversity and inclusion which sets out how they will work to reflect, represent and serve all audiences between now and 2020. It is a vital step and one which embeds diversity and inclusion as part of the BBC’s everyday culture.

The role of the Trust in this area is to set priorities and monitor the BBC’s delivery of them. For their part, the BBC present their plans to us and we are pleased to see the ambitious targets and projects set out in the strategy Diversity includes everyone.

Measuring progress

We welcome the new, tougher workforce and on-screen targets as well as steps to boost inclusion such as new Diverse Audience Panels. This will offer insight on what minority audiences think about the BBC and how they are represented. Further initiatives like Diamond will allow the BBC to benchmark against other broadcasters and accurately measure progress.

Both these things are vital as monitoring and consultation give those who run the BBC (and those who will govern it in future) direct feedback and evidence on how the BBC reflects all communities.

Opening doors

It’s fitting that, in a Paralympic year, the BBC is also refocusing on disability through the Diversity Creative Talent Fund and continuing the award-winning Extend work placement scheme.

We are pleased to see the BBC commit to achieving gender balance both on and off-screen by 2020, which we have previously identified as an area where we wish to see improvement. By creating a new centre for excellence in Birmingham and taking in more BAME trainees the BBC is planning for the future but we would also like to see more progress on diversity at senior levels.

These steps are part of what I hope are measures to make the BBC more porous in general to people from a wide range of backgrounds. Monitoring new employees’ socio-economic backgrounds for the first time is just one example of this and should open up the culture of the BBC to many different voices.

Ensuring delivery

The BBC is a unique and important cultural institution which we all pay for – as such it should represent and serve us all. Because of this it should also lead the way on diversity and inclusion, and we hope that adopting the plans set out in this strategy will achieve this.

In future, the regulators of the BBC will play a crucial role in this checking their progress against their targets and pushing for further improvement where necessary. By doing this we can ensure the BBC remains at the heart of our lives and is a national broadcaster ‘for all of us’.