The scheme is one of a few aimed at improving diversity at the BBC (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

White people who applied to a BBC scheme specifically for ethnic minorities are outraged at being turned down.

In the job description for two junior script writing roles, offered as a 12-month traineeship, the Beeb had written that they were ‘exciting training development opportunities for those from black, Asian and other ethnic minorities’.

The broadcaster has a small number of such roles – some are exclusively aimed at people from BAME backgrounds, others are for people who identify as disabled, or LGBT.

What is all this about the BBC and diversity? The BBC recently pledged to make sure 15% of its workforce was from BAME backgrounds, as part of a wider plan to improve diversity. A Freedom of Information request published in March showed that only 12.2% of the Beeb’s current staff are from ethnic minorities – 2% shy of its previous target of 14.2%. This means 87.8% of its staff are white. Around 14% of the population of England and Wales is BAME, according to the latest census from 2011.

These schemes are part of the corporation’s push to become more representative of the country.


However, some applicants have reacted angrily to being told they weren’t eligible for the BAME-specific role.



One 26-year-old media graduate even described the diversity measure as ‘racial discrimination’.

‘If you applied for a position and got a reply saying it was only open to white applicants, you would quite rightly not be happy. This is exactly the same,’ he said.

‘Opportunities like this hardly ever come up.

‘Of course there was no guarantee I would have got the job, but to be told I wasn’t even allowed to apply because of the colour of my skin was appalling.’

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In response, the BBC said the training opportunity was allowed under the Equality Act, and that the ad made it clear that particular job was only for BAME candidates.

A spokesperson said: ‘This is a training and development programme designed as a positive action scheme to address an identified under-representation of people from ethnic minority backgrounds in script editing roles at the BBC.’