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Today we’re publishing our latest report on . Reporting in this way has become routine practice for us as a public body and we know there’ll be interest in our performance. And rightly so - we are a uniquely funded public service broadcaster - paid for by every household in the land.

Across the wider broadcast industry, diversity topics are never far from the headlines and diverse representation - both on and off air - has been no exception in the last month. Concerns discussed in recent weeks about not enough BME - 'Black and Minority Ethnic' - people being on screen (and one might add women, disabled people and LGBT - 'Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender' - people) are by no means new. Indeed that is part of the frustration – wherever we look in our public life, people from diverse backgrounds are consistently under represented.

That is precisely why the public sector equality duty – which prompts us to publish our employment information today - is in place. It means that all public bodies must show how their work is contributing to changing the overall picture.

In that context we’re pleased that we’re moving in the right direction and making steady progress – though we know there is a need for it to be faster. Women now represent over 40% of our more senior decision-makers and BME people are 12.4% of our overall workforce- much in line with the UK BME working population. However, we also know that occupational groups differ significantly across the Ö÷²¥´óÐã and perhaps our most pressing challenge is how to reach an equivalent level of BME representation amongst our more senior leaders. We’ve worked hard to reverse a gradual decline in disabled staff representation over the last 18 months and it’s good to see that those numbers are now gradually moving in the right direction and – importantly - holding steady.

Despite our very real challenges, we do lead the industry – and much of the public sector- in terms of diverse representation - but our audiences are demanding. They have higher expectations of us than anyone else and this area is no exception. We know the face of the organisation needs to change further and much faster. Not just because it’s a legal expectation, but because it’s a critical business imperative. Audiences are dramatically different to when the current Charter was written in 2006 and they will become only more complex. It’s our job not only to reflect them in our workforce and amongst our leaders, but also on air.

There is far more to do in order to recruit, retain and develop diverse staff. We have a huge amount of activity already underway and we know what is needed to help us achieve more. We’re working in partnership with others – including the Mama Youth Project and the Stephen Lawrence Trust - to ensure that we’re reaching talent form the most diverse backgrounds. We’re also working closely with our staff networks to develop mentoring programmes for underrepresented groups of staff. All complemented with other projects to ensure that our work off air is reflected on air, including for example: , the .

Tony Hall, James Harding and Danny Cohen have all talked recently about their personal and steadfast determination to see the Ö÷²¥´óÐã become far more reflective of and relevant to audiences both on and off air. We’ll be publishing our third full annual equality report in July, alongside our corporate and we look forward to updating our wider diversity story as part of that.

is Head of Diversity, Ö÷²¥´óÐã

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• Read the on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's diversity website.Ìý

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