Recognising and addressing unconscious bias and structural inequalities

This article examines the idea development process within the UK television industry and raises the
question of who has power and agency within it. Recently, there has been much discussion within the television
industry about the commercial and social imperative for greater diversity, inclusion and risk taking in programme
making, in order to both represent and appeal to contemporary audiences. However, our research suggests that
there is at the same time a sense of disempowerment, a feeling that television culture itself is inhibiting this change
and that individuals can do little to influence it. Building on existing research in the creative industries, this case
study draws on observations, interviews and surveys carried out within the context of a talent development scheme
and wider consultation with television development professionals. We will discuss the reasons for these
contradictory currents of feeling, including the ways in which unconscious bias may operate to perpetuate
inequalities and exclusions. Our article proposes that recognising and addressing unconscious bias within the
idea development process is an important element in the wider process of tackling structural inequality in the
television industry through collective action and institutional change