360° Diversity Charter

ON & OFF-SCREEN TALENT 360° Diversity Charter 12.01.15 1 360° Diversity Charter Born Risky remit by Parliament “to appeal to the tastes and interests Channel 4 has a strong reputation for diversity. Our of a culturally diverse society.“ Not just at Channel 4, biggest impact has been in living rooms across Britain. but across the industry. That means forging new paths We’ve produced iconic TV moments that have changed in emerging areas, such as social mobility and mental the way we think about diversity – the first lesbian kiss health. on Brookside, the first long-running black sitcom in Desmonds, pioneering content like Queer As Folk, and of It’s complicated course the Paralympics that forever changed our view of Diversity is a big, complex area. The aim of diversity disability. policy in broadcasting is simple: to include and nurture talent, and to reflect contemporary Britain on and off- And now, once again, we want to change how we think screen. But at Channel 4 we need to do more than reflect about diversity. Going forward, we will maintain our Britain. Our remit tasks us to “challenge established views commitment to creating the iconic moments that shift and promote alternative views and new perspectives” the dial: content like 12 Years A Slave, The Undateables, unlike other broadcasters. Many aspects of diversity are and ground-breaking new LGBT dramas like Cucumber, important to us including diversity of thought. But beyond Banana and Tofu. But we will go further. For the first time that, there are many different aspects of diversity that shift ever, we will take a 360° approach to diversity. over time. What does 360° mean? It’s even more complicated for Channel 4 because we Our 360° Diversity Charter means we will show leadership don’t make our own programmes. As well as delivering our in diversity at every level. Leadership is about people. It’s own diversity goals, we must work with our independent about all the people who contribute to our content, not production partners to ensure they deliver our diversity just those on-screen. strategy on our behalf. We can’t issue edicts and expect outcomes. On top of that, we must prioritise. Our Charter involves commissioners, writers, directors, HR managers, interns, casting agents, viewers, business And on top of all that, the law governing diversity impacts managers, indie managers, on-screen talent, TV what we can do to promote under-represented groups. executives, lawyers, headhunters, careers advisors, Channel 4 will strive to innovate around positive action marketing executives, PAs, data-rights managers, (not positive discrimination), sharing ideas with our production assistants… when we say 360°, we mean partners and suppliers. We know that our commissioning 360°. We understand that leadership and learning go model, whilst challenging, actually increases our hand in hand. We don’t have all the answers, but we’ll find opportunity to be a force for change across the industry. solutions by educating people to be diversity-savvy; to be diversity leaders. 360° also means focusing on every part of the people development chain – talent identification, recruitment, training, development, mentoring and more. We know you don’t need a title to be a leader. Above all, we know that what we do matters more than what we say. Too many stakeholders have heard it all before. That’s why our 360° approach gives others the chance to measure our actions. We will be open and accountable. We will step up to our role, written into our Image: Clare Balding and Ade Adepitan 202 03 Image: Cucumber Four big themes PUTTING OUR 1. Our own backyard Facing Facts So we will listen to indies about what they need to MONEY WHERE We’ve worked on diversity for many years, and when we Here’s the truth: too often black actors aren’t considered help underrepresented groups access our industry. We OUR MOUTH IS step back and look at our successes and failures, one for the same parts as white actors. Actors with disabilities will do this in practical ways – by creating a diversity thing is clear: in common with the rest of the industry, usually aren’t considered at all. Gay men on TV are too database; by helping source talent; by offering talent we haven’t, despite our best efforts, nurtured enough often linked to comedy. Women joke that TV is a “gender selection training; by increasing diversity expertise; and 360° means investing in diversity diverse talent into senior leadership roles within our junta” – after the age of 40 they routinely “disappear.” by starting the diversity dialogue at the beginning of the more than ever before. own organisation. Particularly people from ethnic The statistics back this up. commissioning process, not at the end. And, in turn, we In total we’re investing over £5m minorities. And although we’re the industry leaders in will listen to the areas where our partners think we can in our 360° Diversity Charter. mainstreaming diversity and developing disabled talent And on top of all this, the biggest elephant in the room improve. we don’t employ enough people with disabilities. is class. Anecdotal evidence suggests that young white Half of this was already being people from low-income families outside London face Using Channel 4’s new Growth Fund, we will also seek out invested in diversity activities. We’re also particularly aware of the need to improve mid- as many barriers and obstacles as other disadvantaged and invest in Britain’s most exciting new indies, including The other half is new investment. career support for people from underrepresented groups. groups. And whether employees were born with silver indies led by people from ethnic minorities and other There’s no point bringing in diverse talent at entry level, if spoons or plastic cutlery, there is widespread reluctance diverse talent. will know who is on British TV, and who makes British they then leave two rungs further up the ladder. Our 360° to disclose mental health conditions due to continuing TV. It will reveal whether the policies announced in this Diversity Charter will ensure we make progress in these stigma. 4. Working collaboratively Diversity Charter are having the impact we want and areas by committing more time and resources. We will We will continue to work collaboratively with our need. In combination with a new commitment to publish introduce stretching targets for managers to increase the The diversity stats for off-screen production talent are colleagues at other broadcasters, with indies, and statistics around our internal diversity, we will give diversity of all our people. We will have separate targets even worse than on-screen. It’s been widely reported organisations like Pact, Creative Skillset and the CDN others the ability to measure our success. We believe for leaders and commissioning decision makers. And we that over the last three years the number of people from (Creative Diversity Network) – as well as organisations this will encourage us to provide even greater leadership, will link our diversity priorities to variable pay. We will put ethnic minorities working in the TV industry fell by over outside broadcasting, including charities and voluntary which is what our industry and government expect. our money where our mouth is. 5%. This isn’t just a failure of retention, it’s a failure of sector organisations. We strongly believe that a imagination. It’s a failure to grow our talent pool. constructive working relationship among industry Summary 2. On and off-screen experts – as well as between competing broadcasters – Our 360° Diversity Charter reflects our values and vision, A big part of what Channel 4 exists to do is nurture new It’s a failure we want to put right. That’s why we’ve spent holds the key to improved diversity across the industry. and lays out detailed goals, commitments and activities, talent from all backgrounds and give a voice to untold our time developing and consulting on our Commissioning It avoids duplication and spreads best practice. Poaching as well as mechanisms and timescales for reporting stories. When we’re at our best, we do this naturally. Diversity Guidelines. They’re intentionally not “one-size- each other’s best diverse talent is not a long-term solution our progress. It involves big and small change. But the Independent surveys show that viewers regard fits-all”. They recognise differences between genres and to this long-term problem. Only by working together will biggest change of all is the culture change that requires Channel 4 as three times more likely than any public between suppliers. And they mainstream diversity as we help the industry grow a more diverse workforce. And leadership and imagination from every single person service broadcaster to “show the viewpoints of minority never before. At the same time, we know that disabled that’s why Channel 4 joined forces with Creative Skillset in Channel 4, and every single one of our partners and groups in society.” talent face the greatest obstacles of all, both on and off- to deliver the largest-ever successful skills partnership suppliers. In the past, some elements of diversity have screen. For this reason, we’re fast-tracking investment in bid (The Employer Ownership Pilot, worth £37m), to train been put in the “too difficult” box. Our 360° Diversity In addition to this on-screen success, from now on, disabled talent through our Rio Paralympics programme. talent across the UK creative industries. This forms part Charter sets out to smash that box, by using all the talent we will push diversity throughout all commissioning of the broader UK Government-backed Employment and available – both inside and outside our industry.

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