By Kulsum Shabbir
What’s that feeling called, when you’re scouring the cast list, only to find that your name is nowhere to be seen? Heart slowly sinking in your chest as you check, then double check – but nope, nothing. Baffling, considering this play is supposed to be about you.
Gender diversity is not a new issue in the media industry. Regardless of who the story is about, the same faces sit at the top, dictating how it will be told. While there are plenty of women and people of colour working in the media industry, there is a chronic lack of diversity in leadership positions, according to The National.
Disappointing – that’s the word you’re looking for.
There is a glaringly obvious glass ceiling when it comes to the success of women and people of colour in the media industry. While women and people of colour do occupy various roles in the Scottish media industry, it seems that the highest positions are already reserved. According to the Equal Media & Culture Centre for Scotland, the majority of leadership positions in the Scottish media industry, cross-sectorally, are occupied by white men.
“I think that it is predominantly gendered, classist and racist as well as ageist, in that it favours the endorsement of masculine, white, middle-class subjects in general,” says Katharine Mitchell, a senior lecturer who teaches a Gender and Celebrity Culture course at Strathclyde. She adds: “You only have to do a quick Google search of news on sport, politics, entertainment – any field – to see this.”
As Mitchell says, it only takes a quick Google search to confirm that this is true. An article published by the Reuters Institute found that, in the UK, only 15% of the 80 top editors across the 100 brands covered are non-white.
“I’ve been the only person of colour in a lot of rooms even before I started working in the media. I imagine it’s a slow process of diversifying different organisations because there’s some catching up to do,” says Zainab Ashraf, a journalist currently completing her apprenticeship with the BBC. She goes on: “It is clear though that there’s a lack of people of colour on screen.”
This lack of diversity is seen not only in the news but in various sectors of the media industry. A predominant area is museums and galleries, where 95% of the directors are white.
A co-curator of the City of Empire exhibition in Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Sehar Mehmood provides her insight, shedding light on the consequences of misrepresentation. “This loss [of diversity] is felt by all industries, including the arts and culture. In their denial of our potential, their own was denied too,” she says. “Now as a consequence of their opt-in ignorance, they face the loss of audiences, possible irrelevance, and extinction. The scramble for change has begun.”
So how can these issues be remedied to bring about change? Samar Jamal, an editor working with Greater Govanhill magazine, believes listening to those from underrepresented backgrounds is key. “Journalism creates a form of accountability and change at a grassroots level that feels critical in every aspect of our lives,” she explains. “We need more people to talk about the stories that are underreported in the media, by the people from those communities.”
Ashraf explains that there are various schemes at the BBC to ensure diversity in staffing. “I actually recently helped out with a Pass The Mic and Women In Journalism event hosted at the BBC. It was media training for women of colour experts, and it was a really successful and, hopefully, informative, day.”
Pass The Mic is a Scotland-based organisation dedicated to diversifying the media landscape and tackling the under-representation of women of colour. The organisation campaigns to provide opportunities for women of colour in the media industry in Scotland.
Ultimately, while solving issues surrounding diversity may not be as simple as casting the right people for the right roles, the persistent lack of diversity in decision-making roles does seem to be a likely culprit of most of these problems. That being said, there are clearly many organisations in Scotland dedicated to addressing these issues, casting a positive forecast for change.
“I feel that I have been very lucky that I work within a space that is very considerate and is constantly looking to improve and reflect on how they treat the people within the community… and the staff,” concludes Jamal, reflecting on her experiences with Greater Govanhill. “I feel my workplace is probably an exception, and I think it’s a great example of how the media industry can change.”
Creative Editor
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