After President Trump’s inauguration on Monday 20th January 2025 one thing is clear: Diversity is under attack, and if it is not dead it is definitely in a critical condition.
Within 24 hours of taking office President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to dismantle DEI programs and called on private businesses to end what he described as “illegal DEI discrimination and preferences.”
The edict did not just affect federal agencies and organisations who receive federal dollars.
In the world of media we saw numerous private organisations roll back and even cancel their DEI programmes:
The social media giant, Meta, said it would eliminate a team devoted to DEI and cancel its equity and inclusion programmes.
According to an internal memo obtained by Reuters The Walt Disney Company is backing away from DEI initiatives, and executive compensation, currently weighted 70% on reaching financial targets and 30% on other performance factors, will no longer include “Diversity & Inclusion,” as another performance factor.
Hollywood Reporter ran the headline: “Amazon Studios Quietly Steps Back From Diversity Goals Amid Trump DEI Crackdown.”
The impact may be immediate in the US but where America leads the rest of the world invariably follows (just with a time lag).
All these companies have major footprints in the UK both as employers and in terms of commissioning work and as a filming location.
The question for those of us who have championed diversity in film and television in the past and worked towards more equity and inclusiveness in the media is; how should we respond?
HOW TO RESPOND
The obvious knee jerk reaction is to reaffirm our commitment to DEI and double down on our previous efforts.
This has been the approach taken by the likes of Apple and Netflix. In January Apple’s shareholders rejected a proposal to reconsider its DEI initiatives, while Netflix issued the statement that; Netflix works to “build diversity, inclusion and equity into all aspects of our operations globally”.
In many ways this is not only essential but important in the face of the political onslaught these programmes and policies are currently facing.
But I believe that if that is our only response we are missing an important opportunity.
For too long DEI policies at media organisations have been about increasing the number of people from under-represented groups working at these companies at various different levels (the ‘diversity’ part). It has been about people from under-represented groups feeling as if they can “bring their whole selves to work” and feeling included in the culture of the organisation (the ‘inclusion’ part). And it has been about whether the companies have recognised the differing needs of people from different demographics (the ‘equity’ part).
The fact is the interaction of the media and people from under-represented groups is far more important than all of the above. And the framing of DEI has limited our conversations and ambition.
Now is the time to take this opportunity and expand our ambition and our scope.
THE ESSENCE OF DEMOCRACY
The media is an essential foundation of our democracy and a well functioning society.
Film and TV provides the narratives of how we understand the world not just in news and current affairs but in drama, comedy and even quiz shows (which facts are deemed important). It determines how we vote and how we see not just our place in society but also who belongs in our society,
If the voices of Black, Asian, refugee, women, disabled people (and many other under-represented groups) are excluded from our media they are excluded from the democratic process. Society’s understanding of the lives, values and needs of these people are simply just not understood. This is not simply about representation. This is about people from under-represented groups having control of their own narratives and constructively engaging in the democratic process.
And most importantly this is not achieved simply by having a few more disabled people working at one of the major production companies (important as I believe this is), or a few more Black people in positions of power at the major broadcasters (again, important as I believe this is).
CHANGE THE NARRATIVE
I worked as a senior news executive at BBC Scotland for eight years. The debates around how much of the license fee should be spent north of the border were constant as well as debates around developing the Scottish film and television industry. However in all that time I do not think I ever heard the words “diversity”, “equity” or “inclusion” mentioned as a way of achieving this.
Instead the narrative around all these debates were grounded in the understanding that this was essential for democracy. For the Scottish people to understand themselves and for the rest of the UK to understand Scotland.
DEI has been a useful tool for companies to think about their workforce and their workplace culture.
We do ourselves a disservice if we simply defend current DEI policies and not recognise that we are fighting for democracy and the soul of our nations.
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