Is It Because I'm Working Class?

“It’s not about race, it’s about class.”

I’ve heard variations of this statement at the last few events I have been to about diversity in the television industry. Sometimes the idea comes from the audience other times it can come from the invited guests on the panel or giving a speech.

The idea is that when we talk about the under-representation of BAME people in front and behind the camera we are actually confusing race and class together.

The argument normally goes as follows:

It is in fact working class people who are under-represented in the television industry. For example only 37% of BBC executives went to comprehensive or secondary modern schools. Because black people are more likely to be working class (see statistics on black unemployment and the number of black people in managerial positions) that is why they are under-represented in the media. The fact they are black is almost coincidental. Solve class diversity and everything else will follow.

So do BAME people only reach a certain point in their careers because they are black or because they didn’t go to private school? And does this mean BAME middle-class people do not experience racism and glass ceilings at work?

The leading expert on race and class in Britain is Dr Nicola Rollock of the University of Birmingham, she recently wrote a very interesting paper on this issue called “Race, Class and ‘The Harmony of Dispositions’”, (it’s only 5 pages long and well worth a read).

In it she points out that class is so much more than just the money you earn. It is about where you live, your interests, your tastes and your circle of friends. To use the academic terms class is about your “financial capital” and your “social capital”. (The BBC also did an online survey in which you could find out your class based on these factors). Ultimately the life opportunities which are available to you are usually a result of your social and financial capital.

But here is the interesting part of Dr Rollock’s work; at each stage race plays a part in how much your social and financial capital are worth and which doors they are able to open. Her work is littered with examples of BAME people who would be termed “middle-class” experiencing racism. Also race also plays a role in which class other people perceive you to be in and therefore how you are treated. To put it crudely a white man driving an expensive car might be middle-class but a black man driving the same car might be thought of as a drug dealer.

So how does this help us when we are trying to tackle issues of diversity in the television industry?

Firstly it tells us a reductive approach is not helpful when talking about diversity.There is no doubt class diversity needs to be tackled but so does ethnic diversity, gender diversity, disability etc. There may be “overlap” on some of the issues but solving one issue does not necessarily solve the other.

Second the vast majority of BAME people - irrespective of their class - will experience racism and glass ceilings in their careers. Not to acknowledge this can often be insulting to the very BAME middle-class people are both simultaneously victims of racism while being told they have “escaped” problems associated with their race.

And finally when the next person tells you that “it’s not about race, it’s about class” just tell them to read some of the work of Dr Rollock.

Denying anyone the challenges they face due to their gender, race, class, sexuality or disability is rarely the best way to solve their problems.