Many people from marginalized groups are starting to wonder if ‘diversity’ has become just another empty trend. While it seemed like a priority for many companies and organizations a few years ago, progress now feels slow. This raises concerns that previous efforts were superficial and didn’t address deeper issues of racism, bias, and subtle discrimination.
When people think about diversity on TV, they often focus on the actors they see. While it’s great that more and more actors come from diverse backgrounds, it’s easy to overlook the people working behind the scenes – the directors, writers, and crew – who are equally important.
Creating the shows we watch involves a huge team – runners, researchers, camera crews, and many others. Whether it’s a glamorous drama or a serious documentary, it’s crucial that the people working behind the scenes are as diverse as those we see on screen.
Generally, we need more diversity among the people creating and leading projects, as well as in behind-the-scenes roles, to foster real progress and opportunity in the industry.
ScreenSkills is leading efforts to develop the skills needed in the UK’s animation, children’s TV, film, games, high-end TV, television, VFX, and immersive media industries. It’s an organization run by industry professionals themselves.
ScreenSkills is committed to helping people start and grow careers in film, TV, and other screen industries. They do this by offering training, career guidance, industry knowledge, and opportunities, while also working to make the sector more accessible to everyone.
Has the screen industry become more accessible, easier to enter, and more diverse? Laura Mansfield, CEO of ScreenSkills, says there has been some progress, but it’s been gradual.
We need significant changes throughout the entire organization, and that’s why diversity and inclusion are key parts of our five-year plan. Recent research, called ‘Sizing Up,’ shows that while it’s becoming easier to enter the industry at entry-level positions, there’s a lack of progress for people trying to move into leadership roles. We need to work together across all areas to improve opportunities for advancement.
Last year, ScreenSkills’ Trainee Finder program – which operates in high-end TV, film, and children’s programming – successfully included a diverse group of trainees. Seventy-two percent were from outside of London, 34% were from minority ethnic backgrounds, and 24% identified as disabled. These numbers are particularly encouraging, and demonstrate a vital focus on bringing more diversity into the industry and helping people build successful careers within it.
Recently, the television industry has made significant progress in inclusivity, largely thanks to The TV Access Project (TAP). This initiative, sparked by a speech from Jack Thorne, aims to improve opportunities for Deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent individuals working in UK television.
As a film and TV fan, I’m really encouraged to see the industry making a big push for inclusivity. They’ve been working hard to make sets and workspaces more accessible for everyone, and also to better understand and support people with hidden disabilities. ScreenSkills has even created a fantastic resource hub on their website, including new checklists and job descriptions. It’s all focused around a really important new role – the Access Coordinator. Basically, these folks are responsible for making sure productions are truly accessible to cast and crew with different needs, and it’s awesome to see this becoming a more established and growing job in the industry.
This November, Discover! Creative Careers Week is becoming a month-long event to help young people understand how to get into creative jobs like those in film and TV. The goal is to connect 100,000 young people across the UK with the creative industries and make sure the next generation of professionals truly represents the UK’s diverse range of talent.
ScreenSkills will lead the delivery of this new initiative, which is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Calling it a groundbreaking program driven by the industry itself, Mansfield explained that it will bring together various creative sectors – including TV, advertising, gaming, crafts, heritage, music, and theatre – to help students learn about potential careers in the creative industries.
There are many different career paths within this industry, which is really promising. While we often focus on performers, there’s a huge amount of work happening behind the scenes too. Our program helps career advisors feel more confident when discussing these options with students, opening their eyes to jobs they might not have thought about before.
Discover! Creative Careers is a month-long initiative in November designed to connect 11-18 year old students with creative industries. It provides opportunities for them to experience potential workplaces and learn about real job options.
We want to show children, teenagers, schools, career counselors, and parents the huge range of exciting jobs available in the creative industries – jobs they might not even know exist. This year, we aim to reach 100,000 young people with this information.
Lowering obstacles to participation is often more challenging than it seems. As Mansfield points out, the first step is making people aware of the issues. The saying, ‘you can’t be what you can’t see,’ really highlights this – people need to visualize possibilities to believe they can achieve them.
We also need to show parents and teachers the wide variety of stable career paths available in the creative industries. Many people only think of performers like actors or dancers, which are great, but there are actually thousands of other jobs – everything from accountants and lawyers to technicians, editors, carpenters, and even game designers. Beyond that, we’re focused on building connections between schools, colleges, and creative businesses so students can gain real-world experience in their local area.
The creative industries currently face challenges related to people’s social backgrounds, disabilities, ethnicity, and age. The aim is for the entire sector to actively identify and overcome these obstacles, with support from the government. This will broaden opportunities, ensuring the creative industries truly reflect the diversity of the UK. A wider range of voices and perspectives is essential for maintaining our position as a leading, innovative industry.
In numerous ‘Pass the Mic’ interviews, many actors and filmmakers have discussed how a lack of racial diversity impacts the stories, perspectives, and narratives we typically see in movies and television.
Tamara Lawrance, the actress, believes there’s room for significant improvement and feels that much of the current effort is just for show.
People often say it’s a great time for Black actors because there are more opportunities now, and that’s partly true. However, it’s not always the case. It seems like interest in diverse stories comes and goes in cycles – there are periods where it’s really popular, and then suddenly that momentum slows down or funding disappears.
She explained that people often start projects but then don’t follow through with development. From her experience, the teams working on these projects often lack diversity. It can feel like efforts toward change are just for show, because we really need more producers, directors, and especially showrunners from diverse backgrounds to be in positions of power.
I’d like to see more people from diverse backgrounds in leadership roles where they can actually drive meaningful, lasting change. Focusing solely on representation in casting isn’t enough, and we’ve already seen that approach fade over time.
Writer Kaamil Shah expressed skepticism about the impact of diversity initiatives, particularly for Muslim representation. He noted a lack of dedicated effort to find diverse stories and believes that shows featuring his community and others still face significant obstacles to getting made. He described these barriers as a ‘concrete ceiling’ that’s hard to break through.
He also pointed out how difficult it has been for British Asian showrunners to succeed in the television industry, noting that there aren’t currently any in the UK. He hopes television commissioners will actively seek out and support talent from this background, and expressed his own desire to be among those given an opportunity, feeling his experience makes him a strong candidate. He acknowledged, however, that the path remains very challenging.
Looking back on the five years since George Floyd’s death and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, director Poppy Jay shared that while progress feels slow, she is encouraged by the increasing number of directors and producers from minority ethnic backgrounds. She believes there’s still a long way to go, but feels a shift is beginning to happen.
We’re constantly talking about representation and diversity, and frankly, it’s becoming repetitive. It often feels like efforts to include diverse voices are treated as a temporary task or a box to check, rather than being fully integrated into the standard way of things.
What kind of concerns does ScreenSkills typically receive regarding diversity in film and TV production, and how is the organization working to address those issues and create positive change?
According to Mansfield, ScreenSkills is dedicated to increasing diversity within the industry, making it a central focus of their long-term plan. They actively track progress with specific goals and have recently revised those goals for trainers, based on expert advice, to ensure they are realistic and effective. Mansfield emphasized the need to accelerate these positive developments.
We’re just one piece of the larger film and TV industry, but we’re committed to helping everyone create lasting positive change. We do this through programs like Film Forward, which helps people from deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse backgrounds find jobs in post-production, and through free training for the whole industry on topics like unconscious bias and inclusive hiring practices. Because different areas of the UK have unique challenges and populations, employers need tailored support to build diverse teams.
“It’s that old adage about teaching someone to fish – that’s how you have long lasting impact.”
Is the TV industry doing enough to promote diversity? Mansfield acknowledges that shows like ‘Discover! Creative Careers’ are a good starting point for increasing access, but says the industry also needs to concentrate on supporting people’s career advancement.
According to a recent ScreenSkills study of the TV industry, a lack of diversity is most noticeable among mid-to-senior level positions. While ethnic diversity varies across different areas, technical and craft roles are generally more representative than those in editorial, post-production, or production management.
As a TV critic, I always appreciate seeing data on representation, and the latest Diamond report from the Creative Diversity Network offers some interesting insights. It’s encouraging to see progress in certain areas – particularly with writers. The report shows that 25.1% of TV writers are now from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds, which actually exceeds the 17% representation in the UK workforce overall. It’s a positive sign, and I’m eager to see if this momentum continues in future reports.
Although the representation of people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds has slightly increased from 13.4% to 14% in the last year, it still doesn’t match the 17% that make up the UK workforce. While progress is being made in showing more diversity on screen, there’s still significant work to be done.
Susan Wokoma recently shared her frustration with how discussions about diversity are going. She explained she doesn’t want to have to convince anyone to work with her, stating she prefers collaborating with those who genuinely appreciate her talent. If someone doesn’t see her value, she’s okay with moving on, but feels the push for diversity has often felt like a fleeting trend.
Diversity used to be seen as a passing fad, but now it’s no longer considered ‘trendy.’ Ironically, featuring diverse stories is actually profitable. The success of titles like ‘Sinners’ proves there’s a real demand for these kinds of narratives. Despite this, many creators still hesitate to invest in them.
Mansfield points out the significant issue of racism in the TV industry, citing a recent report called “Black in Focus.” The report found that a staggering 92% of Black professionals in the industry have experienced racism while at work.
To address this issue, she suggested standardizing how people are hired and promoted throughout the industry. Following that, it’s important to help individuals grow and advance in their careers. Programs like our High-End TV Leaders of Tomorrow aim to do just that – provide support for people from diverse backgrounds. This kind of approach is essential for creating lasting, widespread change.
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2025-11-06 18:37