Sky commits £30m to tackle racism

Broadcaster Sky has pledged £30 million across three years in the fight against racism and inequality.

The Comcast-owned company unveiled a series of commitments to support anti-racism and improve diversity and inclusion across all levels of the company, amid global protests following the death of American George Floyd while in police custody. 

To boost BAME representation across the company, Sky has pledged to put targets in place to measure progression of under-represented groups throughout the organisation. It will also invest in education for leaders to ensure a thorough understanding of diversity and inclusion issues. 

• Read more: Broadcasters - Encouraging diversity 

Sky said it will also extend this out to communities impacted by racism by working together with the diversity action and advisory groups, including making financial contributions towards the fight against inequality. 

To leverage its platform, Sky has announced plans for a new documentary, Eight minutes and 46 seconds; the killing of George Floyd, that will run on 15 June across Sky Documentaries, Sky One, Sky Witness and Sky Atlantic simultaneously. Sky also plans to collate a series of content related to Black injustice titled ‘Black Lives Matter’ on its Sky Q platform. 

To deliver these plans, Sky has pledged to invest £10 million per year for the next three years into D&I issues. It has also established the Diversity Action Group, which will be made up of diverse colleagues from across Sky and chaired by Sky’s CEO, UK & Europe, Stephen van Rooyen. 

Sky Group chief executive Jeremy Darroch said: “I have listened to the views of our colleagues at Sky. What I have heard loud and clear is that we can and should do more to support the fight against racial injustice. We stand with our Black colleagues and today we are committing to do more to tackle racism, provide more support to communities impacted by racism and create a more diverse and inclusive culture at Sky. 

“To make changes that really matter we will spend much more time listening and taking advice from those who understand the issues. We will work together with our Black and minority ethnic colleagues and with external advisors to support real change, and we will use the power of Sky’s voice and reach to highlight racial injustice in the UK and around the world.” 

It is the latest social project for Sky, which earlier this year announced plans to become the first broadcaster to go carbon neutral by 2030. 

The broadcaster is also part of Rise Up, a project by Rise – a charity that promotes gender equality – which also involves the likes of BT, IABM and the DPP. 

• Read more: Rise partners BT Sport and Sky to launch education programme ’Rise up’