We have taken the time to reflect on what we need to do as a radio and audio company; for our people, and to better represent the audiences we serve. We are aware of our challenges and recognise that we must work to increase our diversity and the proportion of our workforce from a BAME background – a community which remains significantly under-represented at Bauer.

At present 6% of our radio and audio workforce in the UK and 13% of our people in London are from BAME backgrounds. We know we can do better. We understand that the more diverse we are, the more creative we are, and we want Bauer to be a great place to do great work for all.

We are committed to improve our representation through the following, and continue to listen, learn and evolve:

1. Recruit – we have recently rolled out a new process around recruitment and have started working with external partners such as BAME Recruitment and Creative Access to change the way we attract and recruit new people into Bauer. All our recruitment suppliers have also been asked to sign up to a charter which commits them to supporting Bauer in our goals around representation. We will not work with companies who don’t sign up to the charter.
2. Educate – we will continue to roll out our employee training focused on the topics of inclusion, diversity, ally-ship and privilege. We are also currently in the process of developing a series of remote training programmes to educate our people on unconscious bias and the action they can take to make a personal contribution. Our Code of Conduct, that all employees are obligated to sign, states that we stand by a culture in which diversity is appreciated and supported, where opportunities are open to all, where people treat each other with respect and expect to get the same in return. Employees must stand by these codes and are encouraged to speak up if a colleague is not living up to these standards.
3. Support – we will continue to support and donate to schemes that specialise in training under-represented individuals and have signed the Race at Work Charter. By working on projects such as This is Me: Creative London and The MAYA Project, we aim to diversify both our talent and the wider creative industry.
4. Celebrate – we will shine a light on our BAME people, ensuring that they have a voice both internally and externally. We will work to profile them more regularly, providing more opportunities for them to celebrate their careers, achievements and successes.