BANFF – CBC/Radio-Canada announced today at the Banff Media Fest a new “commitment to diversity” for all of its English and French-language commissioned programs across scripted and factual genres.
The pubcaster made this announcement in the context of its new strategic plan, “Your Stories Taken to Heart,” which, among other things, prioritizes giving underrepresented Canadians greater opportunities to build their skills, experience and relationships in the industry.
“By 2025, CBC/Radio-Canada aims to ensure that at least one of the key creatives in all scripted and factual commissioned programs will be held by a person from a diverse background,” reads the CBC release. Those key creative positions include producer, director, writer, showrunner and lead performer.
“In cases where the talent pipeline may not be as robust, the public broadcaster will expect a commitment from independent producers to mentor or train a diverse person in one of the key creative roles of a greenlit production,” explains the release. “For the purposes of this commitment, a diverse person includes members of visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ2+ community.”
“We are a remarkably diverse country and we need to reflect that diversity in the stories we tell,” said Catherine Tait, president and CEO. “As the public broadcaster, we want to be able to draw on the richness of Canada’s talent pool to better reflect the country we serve.”
This year, says the company, CBC/Radio-Canada surpassed its goal of gender parity across its commissioned programs. During the 2018/19 broadcast year, the public broadcaster supported 62% female-led projects where the majority of the key creative roles of producer, director, writer and showrunner were held by women.
