Diversity Acceleration Plan Press Release

ITV is for Everyone - fostering creativity by championing diversity and embracing inclusion.

ITV has a crucial role to play as a broadcaster, to use our platform to both reflect and shape culture, by ensuring that we authentically represent the rich diversity of Britain on screen in our programmes, off screen in our production teams and within the ITV workforce more generally.

This is essential if we are to remain relevant to our audiences, attract the best possible talent and creative ideas and maintain our role at the heart of popular culture.

We are changed by what we see. Just as we are changed when we are seen.

In July 2020, we announced our Diversity Acceleration Plan and committed to accelerating change on screen and across ITV, the progress and results of which we will report on annually.

There were five key areas of action announced, each of which has a detailed series of supporting activities and each of which is illustrated by lead commitments outlined below:                     

1. Increasing diversity on ITV’s Management Board and senior leadership teams

• creating a new role of Group Diversity and Inclusion Director as well as creating a number of opportunities for new senior leaders in commissioning and production

2. Commissioning to ensure ITV better represents contemporary British life on screen within the next 12 months

• increasing the diversity of presenters of ITV’s highest profile programmes as well as the lead actors in ITV dramas by backing and supporting the careers of talent from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to land lead roles

3. Improving diversity and career progression in TV production

• ITV’s ‘Step Up 60’ initiative will provide the chance for at least 60 people to step up and secure their first ITV senior editorial and production roles, including directing, writing or producing episodes of ITV’s new and returning drama, factual and entertainment shows

4. Recruitment – taking positive action at entry level as well as middle and senior leadership

• up to 20 new opportunities in middle management and 40 new apprenticeships

• positive action campaign to support under represented candidates

• commitment to advertise all permanent roles and to advertise externally across a wide range of portals to ensure diverse pools of candidates

• use of a variety of candidate selection and assessment tools to reduce unconscious bias

5. Educating and developing ourselves so everyone understands racism and their role in creating an inclusive culture

• mandatory race and inclusion training for all staff and on-screen presenters and commentators   

• inclusive leadership training for all managers

• Race Forward development programme which enables minority ethnic talent progression and inclusive culture change

We committed to reporting on the results of our Diversity Acceleration Plan annually. The first report will be published in July 2021.

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