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Broadcasting and Creative Industries Disability Network
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Background
Recognising disability and embracing it makes good business and creative sense for the broadcasting industry. Yet our record on disability lags behind other diversity issues. In the last two years, thanks in part to the work of the Cultural Diversity Network, race has been a particular priority for broadcasters. But disabled people are significantly worse off than ethnic minorities when it comes to employment and representation on screen and on air. They comprise only 0.9% of employees and 0.4% of freelancers working in the broadcasting sector. (Compare that with 5.6% employees and 7.7% freelancers from ethnic minorities.) (Source: Skillset Survey 2000). The Disability Rights Commission estimate that 12% of all disabled people are in employment, so the broadcasting sector is well below the national average.
Representation on screen is more of a challenge, given that many disabilities are invisible. Disabled people are rarely seen on our screens except in special programmes about an impairment. They are rarely in the background as extras, in the foreground as presenters or actors, are rarely interviewed as vox pops or as experts (except on disability), and almost never included as participants in game shows.
Key Commitments
In May 2002 the member organisations of the Broadcasting and Creative Industries Disability Network (BCIDN) commited:
- To increase the presence of disabled people on air and on screen
- To increase the number of disabled people in all areas of the workforce
- To increase access to services on and off air
- To ensure access to all buildings
- To produce and make a public an Action Plan, endorsed at Board level, which details how these Key Commitments will be implemented.
Individual Action Plans vary in detail from member to member. These can be accessed through the links below. (Also available in other formats on request.) The BCIDN will be monitoring the implementation of its Members' Action Plans over the next year, and in twelve months time plans to hold a public review of progress achieved.
- Next: The BBC Action plan