1、1 Diversity and equal opportunities in radio Monitoring report on the UK radio industry Published 31 July 2019 Diversity and equal opportunities in radio 2 Chief Executive foreword Radio is one of the UKs great, enduring cultural pillars. But it never stays still. Millions of people are finding new
2、ways to tune in each year, from web streams to podcasts and smart speakers. Hundreds of community stations are now on air. And ninety per cent of us still listen to traditional radio in our cars and homes each week. Just as the technology evolves, so too does our society. And yet our radio industry
3、doesnt yet reflect the breadth of communities it serves around the UK. Broadcasters have often struggled to attract the best talent from a wide range of backgrounds irrespective of their age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender or sexual orientation. Helping to diversify their workforces is a prior
4、ity for Ofcom, and this is our second report on their progress. It examines the six characteristics above, covering nearly 9,000 staff across 161 companies. This year, we focus again on the three biggest radio broadcasters: the BBC, Bauer and Global. We have identified tangible progress but there is
5、 much further to go. The first challenge is to collect better data. Last year we found a worrying lack of information, with some major broadcasters failing to assess the diversity of their employees across a range of characteristics. So Im encouraged that data collection has improved across the indu
6、stry. This year, nine of our major broadcasters have provided data on all six characteristics, up from just two last year. Where just one in eight major radio companies was recording data on sexual orientation, now five in eight are doing so. And twice as many are measuring their employees age and r