INCLUSIVITY


TV’S MOVES TO GREATER DIVERSITY


It’s about seeing diversity as an opportunity


in the last few years, with an eye to bringing diverse talent through the ranks. The PGGB runs a scheme with the British Film Commission, while a new arrival is ScreenCraft International’s mentor scheme for craft talent in production and post-production, part of the wider ScreenSkills Mentoring Network. For women, there’s a programme from media technology advocacy group Rise, now in its fifth year and WFTV’s Four Nations Mentoring Scheme.


Industry-wide inclusion The D and I conversation is happening throughout


the industry. Outside broadcast is historically less inclusive. But even here, the tide is turning. “We know that working with people different to you challenges entrenched thinking,” says EMG UK sales director Angela Gibbons. Leading broadcast solutions provider EMG is working with organisations such as Rise, Women’s Sports Group, Includability, BComs, SVG and others “to


28 televisual.com Summer 2022


grow our mindset and develop a key business priority, to build an inclusive EMG culture which reflects the population in the regions where we work.” At boutique post-production house Run VT,


md and founder Balvinder Sanghera, reckons his workforce is around 50 per cent diverse, which is in part down to people feeling a natural fit. He believes that the biggest problem around inclusion in the media industry is intolerance. “There’s too much movement in freelance to nurture and grow your staff, so sometimes you will find companies discriminating because people do not fit in.” Bringing under-represented young people into


the industry requires funding and commitment. BBC3’s new comedy series PRU, about a pupil referral unit, is produced by Fully Focused Productions, which was given extra funding to run an inclusion programme. 25 paid trainees worked across the production, shadowing heads of department. There was a youth participation manager working across the programme to support mental health and wellbeing. “It’s really important to look at an holistic approach and make sure people can afford to


come to work on set and are paid properly when they’re there,” says Leah Henry, producer at Fully Focused. She knows that this might seem ambitious for other producers: “if they don’t have the support infrastructure they shouldn’t be discouraged, they should have one or two people on set that they can support.” Fully Focused and its sister outfit, MYM


Academy, are all about training young people who would otherwise not have considered a career in TV. The industry has organisations and support groups for every kind of diverse background. Mama Youth is another with an entry level, youth focus. There are also broader networks including the Triforce Creative Network, The TV Collective, Project Noir or Soho Media Club. Events such as the Creative Cities Convention and Sheffield DocFest are underpinned with a diversity agenda. Coming up in July, the Be You Festival is a new, day-long event with conversations and workshops about inclusion in all aspects of the industry. Jaisica Lapsiwala, co-founder of the Be You Festival says: “It’s about seeing diversity as an opportunity and finding potential in people from every background. There’s still a long way to go.”


Butterfly - ITV


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