The BBC has appointed Miranda Wayland as its Head of Creative Diversity, strengthening its commitment to leading the way and delivering even more on-air diversity.
In the role, Miranda will champion diversity in the creative community and work with key industry stakeholders to deliver the BBC’s on-screen diversity ambitions, with a specific focus on production, content and suppliers along with partnership within the creative industry.
To complete the creative diversity team, the BBC will now recruit for a Creative Diversity Lead, working across content and commissioning. The team will work closely with Anne Foster, the BBC’s Head of Workforce Diversity & Inclusion and her team within HR.
June Sarpong, BBC’s Director of Creative Diversity, says: “Miranda is one of the most experienced and talented diversity leads in the creative sector. Her deep knowledge and passion will help to drive forward the inclusive change we wish to see at the BBC and within the industry as a whole. I feel incredibly lucky to have her as part of my team.”
Miranda Wayland, BBC’s Head of Creative Diversity, says: “I’m thrilled to be working with June to help drive the creative diversity strategy for the BBC, ensuring the diverse voices and talents within our industry are included and better reflected across our outputs and productions.”
The BBC is committed to leading the way on diversity. This spring the BBC will host its first ever Creative Diversity Festival, and the preeminent BAME-focused creative festival in the world. The three-day celebration will connect the best of BAME creative talent with the BBC and the industry at large, and will be a key focus for the diversity teams at the BBC during the first half of 2020. In December the BBC outlined a three-part plan designed to significantly improve representation of – and opportunities for – disabled people on and off air this year.
There is also work under way to ensure socio-economic diversity is reflected throughout the corporation with the internal staff network (called RAISED), which launched at the end of 2019, focused on raising awareness of this issue within the BBC.
Miranda moves across to content from the BBC’s Workforce Diversity & Inclusion team, where she had been acting Head of Workforce Diversity & Inclusion, having worked in the team as HR Business Partner. She joined the BBC in 2017 as BBC Studios Diversity Lead.
She joined the BBC from ITV where she had been diversity manager and had worked at the broadcaster for a decade. She previously worked at Youth Culture Television as Progression Supervisor.