Ethnic minorities and gay people are significantly over-represented on British television, according to a new study. Black and ethnic minority (BAME) people account for about 13 per cent of the national workforce but secure 23 per cent of on-screen role, the statistics show.
Over-representation is particularly stark on drama programmes where ethnic minority actors win more than a quarter (26.4 per cent) of parts, as well as children’s TV (30.3 per cent) and comedies (24.9 per cent). Lesbian, gay and bisexual people nearly twice as likely to appear on television – where they take 11.9 per cent of roles – than would be expected by their estimated 6,4 per cent share of the national population. The figures come after the head of BBC drama defended its practice of crowbarring diverse characters and plot lines into adaptations of classic novels, in an attempt to reflect the demographics of modern Britain. Critics have accused the corporation of pushing “woke propaganda”.
The latest study indicates that broadcasters and producers are promoting actors and presenters of diverse backgrounds to on-screen roles while failing to fully address off-screen diversity problems, especially at senior levels.
Ethnic minorities are still significantly underrepresented as directors, screenwriters and series producers, the research shows.
The latest annual Diamond Survey by the Creative Diversity Network is based on data supplied by 30,000 TV productions made for the five major UK broadcasters: the BB, ITV, C4, C5 and Sky.
Submissions are voluntary but the organisers believe that the survey offers an accurate picture of the industry’s diversity.
Older people and the disabled are the most underrepresented minority groups. Over-50s account for 20.6 per cent of on-screen contributions but make up nearly a third (31 per cent) of the workforce, while disabled people get 7.8 per cent of on-screen jobs and 5.2 per cent of off-screen, despite being 17 per cent of the population.
Deborah Williams, executive director of the Creative Diversity Network, said that it was disappointing that disability representation had “flatlined” in recent years.
She suggested that BAME presenters and actors were so over-represented because improving on-screen diversity had traditionally been seen as a “quick win”.
“So much time is spend on quick wins, that digging deeper hasn’t necessarily been a priority,” she said. “The easiest thing to do, and everyone is guilty is this whether in television or other industries, is to find a black person and put them on.”
Women are slightly over-represented in both on-screen (52.4 per cent) and off-screen (53.7 per cent) roles. The data covers programmes broadcast from August 2018 to July 2019.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/gays ... -n7xcqftgz
I'll offer a comment to here in line with the "Socialism is when the government does things and the more things it does the socialister it is." to explain this phenomanae in the UK over the last couple of years; "Historical accuracy is when you put black people on TV shows during any time period, and the more black people you have the more historically accurate it is.".
Several productions have defended the decision to include minorities on the grounds of inclusivity and rejected complaints of accuracy over the years, leading to these outcomes. Notably Doctor Who producers have basically made British History a multiracial affair to the extent that, as the stats note, it's portrayed as far more mixed race than even the modern era is. You know, like cultural appropriation or something.
There's also the phenomanae of mixed race families on TV during advertisements to try and chase woke status.
The backlash against white people winning BAFTAs and other such tantrums from the progressive left over the last few decades has also contributed to this as shows feel the need to avoid these controversies.
Another inequality being ignored here is that the portrayals of white males aren't done in a way that is in line with the demands of what the white male population wants to see and how they want to be represented, which is an aspect of the push by the progressive left to include more "Posiitive portrayal" of the groups they represent. I'm reminded of the YouGov poll indicating white males were the most disliked population in the UK.
The statistics provide another example of progressives overshooting their agenda and the eventual result being inequality that disadvantages whites and males, and highlights another issue where organizations representing whites and males is necessary.
It's worth noting that the percentage of the population who endorse the progressive lefts intersectional ideology is nowhere near a majority either. They have simply infiltrated and gatekept institutions to produce these outcomes, and the result is our television seems like it comes from an alternative universe, where the values are alien and the cast is not representative of reality.