Ofcom has highlighted the industry’s “chronically” low disability representation and called on broadcasters to address their “limited” and varying data on class.
The regulator’s ninth Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Broadcasting report revealed that the number of disabled people working across TV and radio grew by three percentage points to 11% in the past year – some way below the 18% UK working population benchmark.
If it continues to improve at this current rate, broadcasting will not reach the current benchmark until 2042, Ofcom calculates.
Channel 4 is the only one of the 39 UK broadcasters to pass the national average, with 25% of its workforce living with a disability.
ITV and Paramount, owner of 5, both reported a figure of 14%, followed by the BBC’s 10% and Sky’s 9%.
The highest level of disability representation across the board was in commissioning and programming, at 13%.
On-screen, the figure stands at just 5%.
Ofcom also suggested that broadcasters should narrow the questions they ask about socio-economic background to make comparisons between broadcasters more effective.
It suggests that by asking staff, for example, about their parents’ occupation when they were age 14, the resulting data would allow “assessment across the while spectrum”.
Current data, it said, “indicates little movement and continued underrepresentation of those from working class backgrounds and those who attended non-independent schools.”
In broadcasting, 27% of people identify as working class, compared to the 39% UK benchmark.
No individual broadcasters hit that benchmark, with Sky reported as the most representative with 32%, followed by Channl 4 (30%), ITV, Paramount (29%), and the BBC (26%).
