C4 targets Four New Frontiers in latest 360° Diversity Charter report

2 March 2017

-          Opportunities for 40 TV programme directors from under-represented groups

-          Progressing the careers of 10 high potential BAME talent at Channel 4

-          Encouraging more diversity in advertising

-          Pioneering a new social mobility strategy

 

Today at Parliament Channel 4 unveiled its 360° Diversity Charter – Two Years On report which reviews diversity achievements in 2016 and focusses on four key areas for 2017.

Channel 4 Chairman Charles Gurassa launched the publication of the latest Diversity Charter at the special event held in Westminster and welcomed special guest, Hollywood star Riz Ahmed who talked about the importance of diversity and representation.

The charter’s Four New Frontiers for 2017 will increase the diversity of programme directors in TV; spotlight BAME career progression at Channel 4; improve diversity in the ad industry; and pioneer a new social mobility strategy.

Channel 4 will provide opportunities to 40 TV programme directors from under-represented groups – BAME, female and disabled people in a bid to improve the diversity of directors within the industry.

The broadcaster will also enhance the careers of ten high potential BAME talent working at the broadcaster to improve BAME representation at more senior levels.

Having already initiated positive action and debate within the advertising industry Channel 4 will launch a new competition offering £1m worth of airtime to an advertiser that develops a powerful advert championing diversity. This follows on from last year’s hugely successful Channel 4 Superhumans Wanted competition which also awarded £1m airtime to the winning advert. Channel 4 will continue to take a leadership role in changing the ad industry and lead by example through its own marketing campaigns – by becoming the first broadcaster to use the DIAMOND monitoring system to measure the diversity of its marketing campaigns.

The broadcaster will also create and launch a new social mobility strategy that will help increase opportunities across the industry for people from socioeconomic backgrounds currently under-represented in the industry.

Dan Brooke, Channel 4’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer and Board Diversity Champion, said: “Diversity is the lifeblood of creativity, so it’s imperative we keep challenging ourselves, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes us more innovative and more commercially successful.”

Minister of State for Digital and Culture Matt Hancock said: "The work being done by Channel 4 is a fantastic step in making sure that our film and TV sectors reflect the full diversity of UK society today, both in front of, and behind, the camera.

“I am delighted to see Channel 4 building on its 2016 success, and congratulate them on their creative and imaginative approach to improving diversity, which will help inform the Government's Industrial Strategy. 

"But industry still needs to do more. The creative industries are potentially one of the greatest forces for openness and social mobility we have, and I want to see all broadcasters striving to stamp out diversity barriers and reflect the country they serve."

The latest Charter also reveals the results of how Channel 4 fared against the targets set in 2016, the broadcaster’s Year of Disability. It was a year in which Channel 4 was named Britain’s Best Diverse Company at the National Diversity Awards and the broadcaster was awarded the Ernst & Young National Equality Standard – the only organisation that has ever been awarded the NES at its highest level.

Two key targets were to double the number of disabled people appearing in 20 of Channel 4’s biggest shows and to progress the careers of 20 disabled off-screen talent working with our biggest indies.

Channel 4 redoubled its efforts to cast more disabled people as actors, experts, presenters or contributors in its biggest shows and at least doubled the number of disabled people in 21 programmes. These included The Island, Hunted, Gogglebox, Hollyoaks, SAS: Who Dares Wins, Location, Location, Location and The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds. Off-screen Channel 4 provided career support and development and worked with its indie partners to accelerate the career progression of 26 disabled talent.

In 2016 Channel 4 also offered 50% of its apprenticeships (target 50%) and 35% of its work experience opportunities (target 30%) to disabled people. It also successfully set up a scheme with six three-month paid placements at indies in Glasgow to support diversity in the Nations and Regions. The scheme targeted disabled people and people with BAME backgrounds working and living in Scotland. The Glasgow pilot was so successful it’s now been rolled out in Cardiff and Bristol.

The 360° Diversity Charter, launched in 2015, introduced Channel 4’s Commissioning Diversity Guidelines which set targets to ensure programmes across all genres work towards improving on and off-screen diversity. In 2016 83% of Channel 4 commissions met the guidelines.

This is one of 10 existing initiatives which will come under renewed focus in 2017. Others include Channel 4’s in-house employee diversity statistics, the casting of actors with disabilities, and support of DIAMOND, the world’s first broadcast media industry database recording the diversity data of people working on and off screen. A new initiative will also be introduced focussing on gender pay in line with the Government’s reporting requirements.

This year’s Charter also details on-going initiatives, originally launched in 2015, which will continue, and have now been dubbed ‘the new normal’ as they have become Channel 4’s established ways of doing business. These include diversity and inclusion training for Channel 4 staff, setting diversity objectives for Channel 4 leaders, hosting an annual diversity conference and continuation of the Channel 4 Indie Growth Fund, which invests in indies led by BAME entrepreneurs and those from other diverse backgrounds.

Five initiatives will no longer continue in 2017 as they have been achieved or are no longer relevant and will be addressed in other areas of the charter.

Ends

 

Note to Editors

Full details of Channel 4’s 360° Diversity Charter can be found here