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PARMINDER VIR
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It is this situation which drives me to want to make a difference. Opening the doors of the institu- tions is not so much the problem. It’s opening the minds of the men and woman who run these institu- tions. For they are the culture of the organisation. Legislation, action plans, dictates and equal opportu- nity statements alone will not lead to change.
Only when those in positions of power make Cultural Diversity a part of their value system will we see real change from the inside out.
Cultural Diversity for me means ‘respect’. Respect for the other. Seeing the other as you would see your- self. Cultural Diversity is important to me because I want to see myself reflected in all aspects of our society.
Cultural Diversity is not a bulleted list against which we can tick off. It’s a life long commitment, and one which needs to be made by each and every one of us. The change has to come from the inside out. It has to begin with the individual and go out to society. Britain is a multicultural society and there is simply no going back.
The New Year began with the reporting of BBC Director-General Greg Dyke’s remarks about the BBC being ‘hideously white’. He was merely confirming a fact as he looked round the faces lined up at a man- agement Christmas lunch.
The same would be true of all the national press edito- rial teams, boards and senior management of the majority of broadcasters, the regulators and the trade organisa- tions. The reaction to Dyke’s comment was incredible.
It never ceases to amaze me just how fragile we are on the issue of race. It makes working under these conditions to bring about real change very difficult. No wonder so many give up and just leave, or feel we are forever starting over again while others turn a blind eye and say it’s not their problem. However, many of us remain committed.
Cultural Diversity is not about political correctness or an assault on Britishness. It’s about reflecting mod- ern Britain, and Greg Dyke is right to demand a multi- cultural BBC. The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry has forced every aspect of British society to take a look at itself, to embrace diversity as an asset and not a problem.
By now we all know about the demographic revo- lution facing British society. Currently ethnic minori- ties account for 5.5% of the UK population as a whole. 10% of them are under 30.
Conservative projections predict that 40% of London’s under 25 age group will be black, Asian and or mixed race within 10 years. Britain is a multicultur- al society, and both our audiences and advertisers expect to see this reflected on our screens. Embracing diversity makes good business sense.
Broadcast companies like Carlton have realised the significance of the economic implications of this demographic revolution, especially as 70% of Britain’s ethnic minorities live in the Midlands and London – two of the regions served by Carlton and Central Television.
In 1995 Carlton commissioned a large-scale research project to establish the viewing patterns of ethnic minorities in its regions. The audience research revealed that black and Asian audiences watched less terrestrial television but have a higher than average uptake of satellite and cable channels.
So not only are they the fastest growing popula- tion they are also deserting terrestrial television in record numbers. So Cultural Diversity has become not just an intellectual necessity but an economic urgency within Carlton Television.
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“Only when those in positions of power make Cultural Diversity a part of their value system will we see real change from the inside out.”
In May 1996 the Chief Executive of
Carlton TV, Clive Jones, and the ex Director of Programmes, Andy Allan, appointed me as a consul- tant to help win this audience back. After an initial audit of the company, what struck me was the lack of awareness of the talent pool of writers, directors, pro- ducers, technicians and actors which existed outside.
Talent is the key to changing the face of television on and behind screen. One of my key roles has been to introduce this talent to the company. We have established a talent database, cast actors in our main- stream dramas, and employed a diversity of presen- ters, writers and directors across our output.
For example, the Head of Writing at Crossroads is an Asian woman and the cast is diverse. I tell you this because I believe it is possible to make a difference without ‘spinning ourselves into butter’. They don’t get you headlines but they do give people jobs, they do give you a diverse workforce where people’s skills and cultural backgrounds are valued.
The launch of the Cultural Diversity Network’s Manifesto last October, which was chaired by Clive Jones, follows from this commitment to change the face of television.
All the broadcast companies have signed up to the objectives of increasing employment including at senior executive levels, creating an online talent data base to take away the excuse ‘I don’t know where the talent is’, modernising the casting and portrayal and sensitising the broadcasters so they call for diversity in content and employment. The broadcasters will be measured against their public pledges and we have just less than 12 months in which to deliver visible change!
The on screen change I believe is fundamentally linked to what happens behind the screen. Change has to take place from the top down. This means that senior executives like Greg Dyke, Clive Jones, Michael Jackson and Charles Allen have to keep the issue on the agenda and at the forefront. As long as they demand change, their workforce has to deliver.
Without the commitment of Chief Executives and Director of Programmes I could not have made any progress in Carlton Television. Sensitising the Senior Managers and the Controllers to take ownership of this issue is vital to any change. Everyone will sign up intellectually but the real change is when he or she makes it a part of his or her core business on and behind the screen.
The same is true of the film industry: to deliver an inclusive work force and to make black and Asian film- making talent a part of mainstream British film culture and not as a separate cinema. We know that the eth- nic communities are a source of stories, creativity, management ability, resources, as well as national and international audiences.
The Asian Diaspora market numbers more than 120 million, while the black Diaspora market is over 80 million. Again the economic benefit of an industry
which appeals to and represents a diverse audience cannot be ignored. Touring with Babymother my first feature film, a reggae musical set in Harlesden, gave me the opportunity to see and meet this potential audience from Southern Africa, India, Canada, the Caribbean, across Europe and the US where the film was released.
So what are the ways in which Cultural Diversity can actually be achieved? An important step is con- necting with the diverse population. We can use the services of the many new ethnic PR companies to help reach the ethnic markets and to tap into the huge wealth of talent. Companies like Pearson Communications, Media Mogul, ASAP, Sterling and also ethnic press have all established themselves as an important link to these communities.
Over the past few years there has also seen the creation of so many awards celebrating success: MOBO, Mega Mela, RIMA, EMMA, Diversity Awards, Asian Women in Business, EWBA Awards, the International Indian Film Awards to name but a few. The awards were necessary because the mainstream awards like BAFTA, RTS, and Comedy Awards were not inclusive. I recall going to the EMMA awards and see- ing many people from the television industry heading in the same direction.
As we approached Park Lane the whites turned to left to the Hilton where the RTS were having their awards while the blacks turned right to the Grosvenor where the EMMAs were being held. I stopped and realised that Cultural Diversity will only be achieved when we have a mix of the both. So the challenge to BAFTA, RTS and other such industry awards is to make them diverse from the audience, to the presen- ters and the recipients.
The wheels are turning. The challenge is to keep them turning and to produce results. For too long change has been associated with social unrest, tragic deaths and social injustice which act as wake up calls. Institutions react, initiatives are launched in the name of Cultural Diversity but it’s all been piece- meal, reactive, short-term, a quick fix. They last at best a year and then we start again. Resources are wasted, talent is lost. The demographic revolution is setting the agenda.
It needs leadership from the top, with senior man- agers taking ownership of the problem and calling for inclusion and diversity of talent, stories and skills. If they don’t they are cutting off the vital bloodline to the wealth of talent which is the future of this country. ■
■ Parminder Vir is producer/advisor on Cultural Diversity at Carlton Television, Facilitator of Cultural Diversity Network (CDN), a Film Council Board Member and Member of British Screen Advisory Committee (BSAC) Ethnic Minority Employment in