British television journalists of color have revealed that they are experiencing “resentment” and “backlash” from white colleagues over the perceived advantages of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives since 2020’s Black Lives Matter movement.
That’s a headline finding from a Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity study, which set out to understand the experience of diverse journalists in television newsrooms, including the BBC, ITV, and Sky. The study was led by Rohit Kachroo, ITV News‘ global security editor, and Birmingham City University lecturer Dr Ellie Tomsett.
The authors questioned 80 journalists, 63% of whom said they had experienced racism in their workplace. Another 60% of the respondents disagreed, or strongly disagreed, with the statement that diversity schemes introduced over the past five years were “working well.”
At the same time as arguing that these schemes were an exercise in “box ticking,” journalists of color said the same initiatives were a source of resentment among white colleagues. There was a feeling that diversity strategies had been poorly communicated and managed, meaning they were misunderstood.
The 63-page report said: “Surface-level interventions were felt to have produced parallel dynamics: resentment from some white colleagues — who perceived diversity as conferring unearned racial advantage or lowering standards—and exhaustion among racially minoritised staff who reported experiencing little of this supposed advantage, but remained at the receiving end of such commentary.”
It continued: “Participants frequently described a backlash to the reforms of 2020. Some white colleagues were described to us as perceiving diversity efforts in line with populist rhetoric about EDI as ‘woke culture,’ which have lowered standards and paved the way for ‘diversity hires.’ The negative impact of this behaviour on colleagues of colour has not been recognised by their workplaces. A lack of clarity from leadership about the purpose and value of diversity has given prejudice a space to grow.”
One journalist told authors: “White middle-aged men publicly mock diversity initiatives in my newsroom every single week. The narrative has been set that ‘people were being progressed because of the colour of their skin’ or ‘White men were being held back.’ This is the fault of managers managing the schemes.”
Those surveyed sensed declining enthusiasm for diversity initiatives “due to the wider cultural discussion of EDI,” not least in Donald Trump’s America. When asked whether they felt their workplaces were as committed to diversity as they had been five years ago, 65% disagreed.
Of the 80 people questioned, 56 said there was insufficient career progression for journalists from diverse backgrounds. “Many respondents felt that diversity interventions were focused on getting racially minoritised staff through the door — and then leaving them there,” the report said, adding there was a “crunch point” for mid-career reporters.
Souraj, one journalist interviewed, summed it up like this: “It’s like an apartheid newsroom. You look left and there’s disproportionately too many people [of color] because everyone’s on the lower rung. And you look on the other side, it’s like, everyone’s almost white.”
The Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity made seven recommendations. These included involving journalists of color in conversations about the effectiveness of diversity initiatives, and ensuring white leaders are properly championing schemes.
The report added: “This should include the adoption of clear explicit policies to challenge and prevent the mockery of the objectives behind diversity efforts — whether expressed seriously or as humour, and irrespective of seniority of those involved.”
