The BBC 50:50 project is driven by BBC news presenter, Ros Atkins, and has now become the BBC’s largest collaborative action to increase women’s representation in its content. Now, the program is being extended to universities, forming part of their established journalism courses.
Seven academic institutions have partnered with the BBC with their students applying for the 50:50 tracking method to their work in 2020. These organizations include:
- Falmouth University
- University of West Scotland
- Strathclyde University
- National Film and Television School
- Liverpool John Moores University
- Nottingham Trent University
- Newcastle University
This year, the 50:50 project won three major industry awards, including the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award from the National Council for the Training of Journalists; Diversity Team of the Year at European Diversity Awards 2019; the Impact Award at the Global Equality and Diversity Awards 2019.
Polly Sharpe, lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University says, “Working as a partner on the BBC’s 50:50 Project is a fantastic opportunity, both for us as an institution, and more importantly for our students. It’s really made our young journalists think about who they are approaching when they are working on stories, and consider the importance of diversity in their work. We hope they are developing skills which will stay with them for the rest of their journalistic career – ultimately fulfilling the 50:50 ambition in their profession. We are genuinely excited to be involved.”
Bob Shennan, BBC Group managing director, added: “We’re extremely proud that the 50:50 Project is having an impact outside of the BBC, where it’s already radically increased the representation of women on air and online. By helping to embed the 50:50 process in the way journalism students work today, we hope those same future editorial leaders will take these values into their first newsroom roles and beyond.”
