Disabled people remain under-represented across UK broadcasting workforce, Ofcom finds

Disabled people remain significantly under-represented across TV and radio and data on class representation remains poor, according to Ofcom’s latest study on the make-up of the UK broadcasting industry workforce.

Ofcom’s ninth annual equity, diversity and inclusion in broadcasting report, available to read in full here, shows that disabled people continue to be woefully underrepresented across the industry, accounting for 12% of TV employees and 9% of radio employees in 2025.

Despite representation increasing slightly year on year, it still falls well below the working population average of 18%.

At management level, the figures are starker still, with just 10% of senior TV roles held by disabled staff.

Ofcom has called on broadcasters to redouble their efforts, building on the sector-wide initiatives already in place, to drive improvements in disability representation in the coming year. It said it will continue to facilitate cross-industry engagement and action in this area.

It comes after UK industry body Creative Diversity Network (CDN)’s 2024 report into on- and off-screen representation showed a concerning lack of progress when it comes to the number of people with disabilities working in UK TV.

Elsewhere, Ofcom said, from the limited socio-economic data available, it appears that only a quarter (27%) of employees are from a working-class background, against the UK benchmark of 39%.

Ofcom said it wants to see the significant gaps in socio-economic data collection addressed and will convene an industry roundtable to agree comparable metrics and how they should be collected and used.

Representation of women (44%) and people from minority ethnic groups (9%) across senior management roles also remains below UK workforce benchmarks.

Other notable findings from the report include confirming a steady growth of broadcast jobs outside of the capital, with nearly half (49%) of the UK’s TV and radio workforce now based outside of London in the nations and regions, up from 48% last year.