Socio-economic background: what is it and why does it matter in TV jobs?

When you think about diversity and inclusion - the chances are that ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and disability are at the forefront of your mind when it comes to representation on and off screen.

Indeed, since the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement, we’ve seen a huge focus on ethnicity and disability inclusion - as the industry woke up to the fact that our workplaces are loaded with structural and cultural barriers for people from these groups.

However, there is an intersecting factor yet to be truly examined and acted on which also significantly affects someone’s circumstances, opportunities and chances of making it in this industry: socio-economic background.

At its core, someone’s socio-economic background is about the interplay of personal circumstances that give them financial, social and educational advantages or disadvantages at key points in their life.

This could be where someone grew up; whether they grew up in care; what jobs, education and professions parents or carers had; the household’s income and the opportunities that would have provided; what education someone received and where; proximity to deprivation and crime - and more.

But how does any of this relate to working in the TV industry?

People from less advantaged backgrounds face significantly more barriers than their privileged co-workers to accessing education and job opportunities. 

There is not a huge amount of data on the topic, but recent studies suggest that people from ‘lower socio-economic’ groups are historically less likely to enter the industry, and even less likely to hold senior positions. 

Looking at educational background, data published by Ofcom in 2022 seems to back up the privilege divide, revealing that 13% of employees across the eight broadcasters attended private school, compared with the UK average of 7%, and that 62% of employees had parents in a professional occupation when they were aged 14, compared to the UK estimate of 33%.

People from less advantaged groups when they are in the sector are also less likely to be paid the same rate as their more advantaged peers. 

Data from the Time Project revealed that people from ‘lower socio-economic’ backgrounds in their 30s and 40s are paid lower weekly rates compared to other groups; this ‘class pay gap’ increases to 11% for people in their 40’s. 

On a fundamental level, lack of socio-economic representation limits voices and perspectives, leads to harmful stereotypes and excludes talented individuals from taking the top opportunities in the industry. 

So how does industry even begin to act on these ingrained inequalities?

The path to positive change isn’t necessarily straightforward or short distance, but it starts with acknowledging the problem and building a full understanding of the socio-economic blockers to career progression that can be removed.

Indeed, in recent years the BBC and ITV have revised their commissioning diversity guidelines to require better socio-economic diversity - an important step to ensure socio-economic equality is embedded into recruitment culture. ITV recently announced a 33% socio-economic target for productions by 2025. It’s an ambitious target - but a strong signal that our production teams must reflect and include the diverse groups we make content for.

From our work with broadcasters and indies, here are some of the actions and strategies that we think are effective in starting to level out some of the financial and educational barriers to accessing TV careers.

• Always provide PAID internships and apprenticeships on a living wage, and with a clear path to employment for individuals from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds.
  
  

• Offer mentorship and networking opportunities with industry professionals from similar backgrounds to provide guidance and support for career development.
  
  

• Ensure that recruitment processes are fair and accessible, for example by removing barriers such as unpaid trial shifts or requiring ownership of expensive equipment or a vehicle.

• Sense-check any requirements for degrees or other post 16 academic qualifications. Is a university education really required - especially when core production skills can be learnt on the job and supplemented with free training from organisations like ScreenSkills.

• Commit to exceeding current diversity and inclusion targets, and regularly assess your progress towards meeting them. 

• Invest in training and upskilling programmes that provide opportunities for career progression and leadership roles for individuals from under-represented backgrounds.
  

• Research the bursaries and funding opportunities that your team can access via The Film & TV Charity, ScreenSkills, BAFTA and RTS. More details on our resource page.