TRUE NORTH DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION POLICY

Context

True North recognises that for too long the TV industry has failed to reflect the diverse make-up of the UK – both in on and off screen. Not only has this failure made our industry creatively poorer but it has cemented and worsened inequality in our society.

True North is committed to driving inclusive and equitable hiring, casting and talent development in order to increase diversity within our company and to ensure that there is no discrimination in our working practices.

We will build on the work we have already done to ensure that our company is one that represents all sections of society and in which every employee, freelancer and contributor feels respected and where they are able to do their best work in a supportive and equitable environment.

We have worked, with expert support and with a cross-section of our colleagues, to devise this policy to provide a clear framework of equality and fairness.
We oppose all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination. This policy expresses our commitment not to discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marital status (including civil partnerships), race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

This policy applies to employed and freelance staff and to people working on and off screen.

Our Commitments

Under our Diversity and Inclusion Policy we make the following commitments:
• All freelancers and employees, whether part-time, full-time or temporary, will be treated fairly and with respect.
• Selection for employment, whether as a member of staff or on a freelance basis, will be on the basis of aptitude, performance and ability.
• Access to opportunities for promotion, training or any other benefit will also be on the basis of aptitude and ability.
• All employees will be encouraged to develop their full potential and the talents and resources of the workforce will be fully utilised to maximise the creativity and success of the company.
• To provide employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment.
• To recruit develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.

This is how we will achieve our commitments:
• Senior management lead our Diversity and Inclusion Working Group which insures our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy aims are accomplished and D&I remains a top priority for our company.
• In association with our Talent Executive, we actively seek to increase the number of people we work with who are from groups/communities that are under-represented in the television industry as a whole, or in particular job roles in the industry. Additionally – although it is not a protected characteristic, we will actively seek to increase the number of people we work with who come from economically diverse backgrounds.
• Continually review all our formal and informal employment/hiring practices and procedures to ensure they are fair and help us to identify the best talent.
• Identify and take opportunities to increase the diversity of casting decisions.
• Ensure reasonable adjustments are made to enable disabled people to work in or with our company, both on and off screen.
• Actively seek to increase the diversity of our talent networks.
• Create an environment in which individual differences and the contributions of all our staff and freelancers are recognised and valued.
• Ensure every employee and freelancer is able to work in an environment that promotes dignity and respect for all. We will not tolerate any form of intimidation, bullying or harassment.
• Ensure training, development and progression opportunities are available to all staff.

Our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

In 2022 we have identified our commitment to increasing Diversity and promoting Inclusion as a priority KPI for the company.
We have a commited Diversity and Inclusion Working Group comprising of senior management and we run Diversity Focus Group sessions that source feedback from throughout the company to ensure our D&I initiatives are dynamic, informed, and relevant.
We have identified 5 key priorities for 2022.

These are:
– Monitoring. We commit to regularly monitoring our workforce and using the data to inform our D&I policy. This includes our commitment to become a Disability Confident Employer.
– Communication. We believe that both external and internal company communications are the lifeblood of a company and good communication can create a sense of belonging and inclusion among all employees. We believe inclusion is an essential bedfellow to diversity and creating a workplace culture where everyone is valued equally and differences are respected is an essential ingredient to increasing diversity.
– Work Experience. After 2 years of lockdown, where work experience opportunities at entry level were severely limited, we are committed to improving access to the industry for underrepresented groups via paid work experience and we are creating new partnerships and opportunities to achieve this objective.
– Senior and permanent recruitment. We believe that creativity and diversity go hand in hand and we are committed to constantly reviewing our networking, positive action and recruitment processes to ensure we build the most creative team possible.
– Working Groups. We have a D&I working group and we run D&I focus group sessions which help us ensure that a range of voices are feeding into our D&I policy. We are committed to making our D&I initiatives transparent, tangible, and accountable.

We will monitor the success of this policy regularly and review our progress at least four times a year.
The people who are responsible for ensuring this action plan is implemented are Creative Director Fiona O’Sullivan and Chief Operating Officer Norma Wisnevitz.

This policy is fully supported by the senior management of the company. Breaches of the policy may be regarded as misconduct and could lead to disciplinary proceedings.