Diversity Acceleration Plan Report 2021
In July 2020, we launched our Diversity Acceleration Plan to accelerate change at ITV and to better represent modern Britain both on- and off-screen.
We decided to be proactive in shaping our workforce because we know it is imperative for our business to have the widest and best pool of talent available. Our 2020 Diversity Acceleration Plan had five clear commitments and the report is intended to reveal what we have achieved so far, whilst also detailing what we still need to do.
Our Five Commitments
1. Increasing diversity on ITV’s Management Board and senior leadership teams.
2. Commissioning to ensure ITV better represents contemporary British life on-screen within the next 12 months.
3. Improving diversity and career progression in TV production.
4. Taking positive action on recruitment of a diverse team at entry level as well as at middle and senior leadership levels.
5. Educating and developing ourselves so everyone understands racism and their role in creating an inclusive culture.
In the first year of our Diversity Acceleration Plan we have already made some progress, including:
33 % increase in the number of lead roles featuring Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic talent on ITV.
34% of lead roles in new commissions that have aired on TV since July 2020 have been filled by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic talent.
62 Production Opportunities for ethnically diverse talent to gain more senior experience in roles to create an increased pipeline of diverse talent in years to come.
We have also had some great examples of championing disabled talent with ITV SignPost receiving their first commission for ITV4, David Proud joining the writing team at Coronation Street following his time on Original Voices and Genevieve Barr winning the Red Planet Prize, which is supported by ITV.
We are encouraged by our work so far but understand we still have much to do. We are committed to continuing to deliver on our Diversity Acceleration Plan commitments to nurture a diverse and inclusive workforce at ITV. As we extend the Diversity Acceleration Plan going forward, we will expand our efforts to include a focus on disability with our Accelerating Disability into the Mainstream commitments and work on increasing representation of socioeconomic diversity.
We hope you enjoy reading how much we have achieved so far and also push us to go even further in years to come.
Read our Diversity Acceleration Plan report 2021 in full.
As part of the report we asked some ITV talent about their thoughts on the Diversity and Inclusion agenda over the last twelve months. Read the full interviews with Charlene White, Will.I.Am and Warren Nettleford on our News page.