When I was 23 I applied for a trainee Assistant Producer job. I had to go through a rigorous application process followed by probably the toughest interview I’ve ever had. I still have stress related dreams in which this interview features, in the same way people have dreams about being back at school or taking final university exams. Nevertheless, with hard work, resilience and a bit of luck I got the trainee AP job, and I actually think it was a turning point in my career.
Years later I sat down with one of the people who was on the
that fateful interview panel, and as we talked it slowly dawned on me that I
nearly didn’t get the job because of my colour.
I know what you’re thinking but it’s not that simple. None of the people who interviewed were racist. The surprising and confusing fact is they didn’t want to give a black man the job because they were trying to increase diversity! Let me explain:
The trainee AP job I applied for had two positions and was free for anyone to apply to. Unbeknownst to me the BBC department running the trainee scheme was – at the same time – applying for funding from a central BBC fund to run a trainee AP post specifically targeted at BME staff. They actively wanted to increase diversity in the team.
But this is where what I would call the unintended consequences of the department’s actions came in.
When they interviewed me, my panellists were worried that if they gave one of the two shall we call them “mainstream” jobs to a person of colour, then the justification for having a separate AP trainee post specifically targeted at BME staff would be diminished. So, the argument went, if they give the job to me, they would only have two AP posts funded. But, if they gave both the “mainstream” trainee jobs to two white applicants then they could re-interview me again under the targeted BME scheme. I would still be a trainee AP and they would get three posts funded instead of two. Everyone would be a winner!
I was obviously not in the room when this discussion took place and I have no idea how serious it was, or whether it lasted 2 minutes or an hour. All I know is that in the end common sense prevailed, the interviewees stuck to the BBC guidelines on fair interview procedures and I was duly appointed. In any case, it just so happens that soon after my appointment the BBC stopped targeted trainee posts for BME staff and so if they had waited to put me on the BME trainee scheme I’d still be waiting. In all honesty if I hadn’t got my break at that point I may well have left TV.
I still work with the people who interviewed me and I think you would be hard pressed to find a nicer, more liberal bunch of colleagues working in TV. But for me this story is an extreme example of a broader phenomenon I sometimes see today working in television. I often attend meetings with senior people working in TV where we discuss how we can increase diversity in television, from more older women in front of the camera to increasing the number of BME staff at higher grades. What can happen is we get so caught in the different schemes and initiatives to increase diversity (in my case almost twenty years ago the BME targetted trainee AP scheme) that we lose sight of what we are trying to achieve - actually employing more people from diverse backgrounds.
My career, the career of a black person working in TV, was almost derailed by people actively wanting to increase diversity in television. So we have to be clever when designing any schemes and make sure our good intentions create the best results.
I think my story is fairly unique but unintended consequences do happen all the time. If we’re really going to safeguard diversity, we need to watch out for them and keep an eye on the big picture.
I know what you’re thinking but it’s not that simple. None of the people who interviewed were racist. The surprising and confusing fact is they didn’t want to give a black man the job because they were trying to increase diversity! Let me explain:
The trainee AP job I applied for had two positions and was free for anyone to apply to. Unbeknownst to me the BBC department running the trainee scheme was – at the same time – applying for funding from a central BBC fund to run a trainee AP post specifically targeted at BME staff. They actively wanted to increase diversity in the team.
But this is where what I would call the unintended consequences of the department’s actions came in.
When they interviewed me, my panellists were worried that if they gave one of the two shall we call them “mainstream” jobs to a person of colour, then the justification for having a separate AP trainee post specifically targeted at BME staff would be diminished. So, the argument went, if they give the job to me, they would only have two AP posts funded. But, if they gave both the “mainstream” trainee jobs to two white applicants then they could re-interview me again under the targeted BME scheme. I would still be a trainee AP and they would get three posts funded instead of two. Everyone would be a winner!
I was obviously not in the room when this discussion took place and I have no idea how serious it was, or whether it lasted 2 minutes or an hour. All I know is that in the end common sense prevailed, the interviewees stuck to the BBC guidelines on fair interview procedures and I was duly appointed. In any case, it just so happens that soon after my appointment the BBC stopped targeted trainee posts for BME staff and so if they had waited to put me on the BME trainee scheme I’d still be waiting. In all honesty if I hadn’t got my break at that point I may well have left TV.
I still work with the people who interviewed me and I think you would be hard pressed to find a nicer, more liberal bunch of colleagues working in TV. But for me this story is an extreme example of a broader phenomenon I sometimes see today working in television. I often attend meetings with senior people working in TV where we discuss how we can increase diversity in television, from more older women in front of the camera to increasing the number of BME staff at higher grades. What can happen is we get so caught in the different schemes and initiatives to increase diversity (in my case almost twenty years ago the BME targetted trainee AP scheme) that we lose sight of what we are trying to achieve - actually employing more people from diverse backgrounds.
My career, the career of a black person working in TV, was almost derailed by people actively wanting to increase diversity in television. So we have to be clever when designing any schemes and make sure our good intentions create the best results.
I think my story is fairly unique but unintended consequences do happen all the time. If we’re really going to safeguard diversity, we need to watch out for them and keep an eye on the big picture.
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