Ahead of International Women’s Day on Friday, TVBEurope is publishing a series of special articles around this year’s theme of Inspiring Inclusion.
Later in the week, we’ll focus on how the media technology industry can take action to inspire more women to see it as a viable career opportunity, and we’ll also be celebrating inspiring women within the industry.
But we start with a look at how companies are working to achieve inclusion in an industry that is traditionally dominated by men.
Pernilla Wraneus, VP people and culture, Accedo
Our DEIB strategy is built on three pillars, “Create Baseline”, “Raise Awareness & Promote inclusion” and “Mitigate biases”. Our view is that inclusion happens when you are an active part of the company, have clarity of your role and connect with the bigger enterprise in combination with being respected for who you are with your individual skills and experiences and your unique identity. We work closely with our managers to have a close connection with each employee so that they feel seen, understood for who they are and a valued part of the company. Given that we are a global company with offices in 15 countries, we also work with broader awareness activities on different diversity aspects for a better cross-cultural understanding.
Clarissa Yerkes, head of Americas and EMEA talent acquisition and global DE&I lead, Amagi
At Amagi, we prioritise fostering an inclusive workplace culture. To achieve this, we’ve implemented various initiatives such as bias awareness training, inclusive recruiting and hiring best practices, mentorship and sponsorship programs, flexible work policies, and ensuring equal opportunities for career growth regardless of differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, socio-economic status, ability, and more. To truly understand diversity, we acknowledge and embrace these differences.
DEI efforts require a sustained and collective commitment from everyone in the organisation. Integrating these practices into the core of Amagi’s operations and culture supports an inclusive and equitable workplace.
Catherine Gonzalez Pack, senior vice president operations, LTN
LTN always looks for talent to help make our vision of revolutionising how the world engages with media a reality. We measure success by impact – in media innovation, emerging technology, and among communities, beginning with our own — we put a high value on inclusion and diversity.
LTN is proud to have many women in leadership roles who drive the company’s vision in this ever-changing landscape. The company has cemented itself as a leader in the field, and the inclusive environment we promote is a big driver of that.
Isabelle Montpetit, vice president, human resources, Matrox Video
Inclusion is a key initiative at Matrox Video and a critical factor for attracting young professionals. We recently had our employees complete an Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) survey to initiate a process of better understanding their realities and experiences within our work environment. The survey will also serve as a guide for our future EDI initiatives, so we can work towards fostering a more supportive environment for everyone, regardless of background. We recognise the challenges in achieving gender equity, especially in engineering roles where women are historically underrepresented. By creating more opportunities for exchange and collaboration across different departments, we’re striving to ensure that no one feels isolated because of their gender or any other reason.
Theresa Wise, chief executive, Royal Television Society
The RTS has a highly regarded bursary scheme for young people looking to work in television, which supports students from lower-income backgrounds. Through this, we are increasing social mobility and widening participation in the industry, providing both crucial support to the recipients and demonstrating that the industry can offer a wealth of interesting and inspiring career opportunities for people from all backgrounds, both on and off-screen.
We have supported 350 people since the scheme’s launch a decade ago, and over 80 per cent of the graduates have jobs in television. The Television Production and Journalism Bursary focuses on media production and journalism, and the Digital Innovation Bursary targets those in more technical subjects, with the latter scheme achieving a 41 per cent proportion of female recipients.
We also curate events throughout the year, with speakers and themes that highlight the critical issues surrounding inclusion in our industry. A great example of this was last year’s The Legacy of Black Square event, which included Joanna Abeyie, head of creative diversity at the BBC and Marcus Ryder, now CEO of the Film & TV Charity amongst other speakers, and discussed the progress broadcasters have been making on their D&I commitments. Alongside this, we have held powerful sessions on inclusion – including on the representation of disabled people in the industry – at the RTS Cambridge Conventions in 2023 and 2021.
Karen Walker, vice president – Camera Motion Systems, Ross Video
To me, inclusion is about removing barriers to joining companies. I have always said it’s about the right person for the role and we should make it easy for anyone to work for us, the more diverse the workforce the better the products we can offer our customers. It’s about providing a culture where everyone is equal and there are useful and meaningful offerings to make you feel you are looked after throughout your life career.
Ross offers an extensive co-op programme, providing students an opportunity to work in different roles providing guidance in what they like and more importantly what they don’t want to do – there are so many different careers in Ross and it’s difficult to know what you want to do after your studies. We also offer hybrid working, strong believer in work/life balance – flexibility and various other benefits like social activities, medical, dental and vision plans, etc Things are changing, and Ross is flexible enough to consider all ideas but there is still work to do. I would like to see more around supporting women later in life and offering sabbaticals so people can travel, etc.
Danna Mann, marketing director, TAG Video Systems
TAG employees come in all different shapes and sizes, genders, ages, and nationalities and are based in 7 countries in every corner of the world. Diversity is sewn into our fabric. It is part of our personality and is largely responsible for our success on the world stage. We’ve grown because of our different backgrounds, viewpoints, and approaches. Everyone on the TAG team, from management to the newest member, is encouraged to express opinions; we listen and learn and always value ideas that can lead to a positive change in technology or even company policy.
This philosophy extends to our global customers. Corporate cultures and regional markets have their own personalities with differing goals and requirements. Our dedication to servicing our customers by listening to their unique, and not so unique, needs has led to a robust platform that has changed the face of monitoring and visualisation solutions.
Guendalina Cobianchi, SVP strategic analytics and business insights, V-Nova
This International Women’s Day, the theme “Inspire Inclusion” aligns with V-Nova’s core values. Diversity and inclusion are integral to our identity, with over 90 professionals from 20+ nationalities, including 25 per cent women. We prioritise work-life balance, offering flexible arrangements, empowering someone like me to balance parenthood with work. A recent enhancement to our maternity policy further underscores our commitment to supporting our employees through significant life stages. The flexible and parent-friendly working arrangements have allowed me to raise my children closer to my family while continuing to contribute meaningfully to V-Nova.
Through initiatives like our internship programme, we’ve not only welcomed bright students but also integrated their fresh perspectives into our projects. We enable a diverse environment, an example being when we hosted an inspiring transgender speaker during Pride Month, helping to enrich our understanding and overall empathy. Looking forward, V-Nova is committed to expanding diversity and inclusion efforts through refined initiatives and recruitment strategies. We believe an inclusive environment fosters innovation and propels success for our team and company alike.
