Abstract
European and American media have been striving to promote diversity to respect the human rights of diverse members of society regardless of gender and race and to reflect their voices in news and other programs. Following the widespread of Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that started in the United States calling for respecting the human rights of African–Americans, media companies are now requested to take further strategies. With social media becoming more influential, broadcasters feel the urgency more acutely that media outlets that cannot represent diverse standpoints may lose their raison d'etre. Japan is no stranger to this issue. This paper considers how Japanese media should promote diversity for the future.
The author explores preceding diversity strategies of major public service broadcasters of the world. The BBC of the United Kingdom set numerical targets to be achieved by 2020 to secure the diversity both on and off air, such that 50% of on–air roles must be occupied by women, and 15% by the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups. In France, the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA), a media regulatory authority, conducts detailed analyses and assessment of TV news and programs produced by broadcasters to check whether the representation of women and non–white people on TV are in proportion to the total population, what roles they play, and how they are featured. CSA also issues a recommendation for improvement when necessary. In the case of CBC/Radio–Canada, Canada's public service broadcaster, women account for around 50% of the entire workforce, which is a result of the company's continued efforts dating back to the 1970s when female employees started a thorough investigation into the recruitment, the treatment, and the promotion of female workers, and their evidence–based commitments have made changes to the organization and improved the situation.
