Diversity, inclusion and representation in radio and podcasting: what does the data say?
Data is important for painting a picture in numbers of what is anecdotally well known - that if you come from a working class background, are not white and/or have disabilities, you are less likely to be found working and thriving within the audio industry.
While there is currently a lack of data about the radio and podcasting industry specifically, there are various reports which crossover with our industry, and can offer some really useful insight.
There are many areas we need to work on as an industry and a society in order to make radio and podcast production more representative of the world we live in. But if you’re looking to understand the scale of the problem and arm yourself with some essential data as a starting point, these reports may be of use.
OFCOM’s reports on ‘Diversity and equal opportunities in TV and radio’
OFCOM does an annual report on diversity and equal opportunities in radio (and as of 2020 it began combining TV and radio into one report). This report measures diversity among UK broadcasters using the protected characters set out in the Equalities Act 2010.
What OFCOM says: “Barriers of social class and privilege can prevent the widest pool of people from being able to fulfill their potential, regardless of their background.”
Read all the historical reports, including this year’s report, here.
OFCOM’s reports are limited in the sense that they survey the employees of major broadcasters, which doesn’t include freelancers and other smaller companies that are employing producers within radio and podcasting. Over the years, the reports have had mixed success in the numbers of employees broadcasters have managed to survey, although engagement with the research is improving over time.
Panic! Social Class, Taste and Inequalities in the Creative Industries
This research paper (commissioned by Create London) was created in 2018, and it brings together multiple data sources to give a very useful overview of the impact of unequal access to the creative industries. According to the authors, the paper presents:
The first analysis of cultural and creative workers’ values and attitudes, using data from the British Social Attitudes Survey
The first analysis of cultural and creative workers’ cultural attendance, using data from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (now the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) Taking Part Survey
The first analysis of social mobility into cultural occupations using data from the Office for National Statistics’ Longitudinal Study
An analysis of the demographics of the cultural and creative workforce using the Office for National Statistics’ Labour Force Survey
Analysis of survey and interview data from the 2015 Panic! What happened to social mobility in the arts? project. This analysis demonstrates participants’ experiences and understandings of unpaid work; their social capital; and their views on getting in and getting on in cultural and creative occupations.
The report states that
“the cultural and creative industries are marked by significant inequalities; in particular […] the social class background of the workforce, and how this intersects with other issues, including attitudes and values, experiences of working for free, social networks, and cultural tastes.”