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Helen Wood joined Aston University as a professor in media and cultural studies within the Sociology and Policy department of the College of Business and Social Sciences on 1 September 2023.

She moves from the University of Lancaster, and was previously head of the School of Media, Communication and Sociology at the University of Leicester. 

Helen is the author of numerous books and articles on media, gender and class formation, including Talking With Television (Illinois), Reacting to Reality Television with Beverley Skeggs (Routledge) and Audience (forthcoming). 

She was editor of the European Journal of Cultural Studies from 2010-2023 and sits on the editorial boards of Feminist Media Studies, Television and New Media and Critical Studies in Television. 

Helen was special adviser to the 2019 Parliamentary Inquiry into reality television and is principal investigator of the AHRC UKRI Grant ‘RE-Care TV: Reality television, working practices and duties of care’ (with partners: DCMS select committee, BECTU and Equity).

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aston-universityled-report-exposes-persistent-barriers-for-black-professionals-in-the-uk-television-industry

Professor in Media and Cultural Studies

 L to R: Professor Helen Wood, Annika Allen and Nadia Afiari (Image: Simon Roberts Photography)  Aston University’s Professor Helen Wood led the research for Black Leaders in TV, a company championing Black TV professionals
Black in Focus is the first report of its kind and highlights the prevalence, with 92% of respondents reporting prejudicial or discriminatory experiences
Recommendations for improvements include mid-career support, changing how Black stories are commissioned and tackling racism and bullying.

Black television professionals in the UK’s television industry continue to face persistent barriers to career progression, with progress towards equity and inclusion very slow, according to new research led by Aston University academics.

The report, Black in Focus, was produced in partnership with Black Leaders in TV, a company set up to champion Black professionals in the UK television and content creation industry, committed to bridging the representation gap and creating a more inclusive and innovative industry. The research group was led by Professor Helen Wood, a professor of media and cultural studies at Aston University. It also included Aston University’s Dr Killian Mullen and Dr Priya Sharma, alongside Dr Jack Newsinger, associate professor in cultural industries and media at the University of Nottingham.

The researchers surveyed 164 Black mid-career television professionals to learn about their experiences. While entry-level diversity efforts have sparked positive change, the researchers say that respondents generally see this as performative, with little genuine progress at mid and senior levels.

Of those surveyed, 92% reported experienced microaggressions at work, defined as subtle, often unintentional, comments or actions that express prejudice or discrimination towards them, such as being mistaken for a taxi driver or colleagues continually mispronouncing a name. 80% stated that their careers in television have negatively impacted wellbeing. Almost three-quarters (74%) of respondents said they had been ignored or excluded at work

One of the biggest problems highlighted is a persistent ‘club’ culture with career progression often based on informal networks and hires. 91% of the survey respondents reported having no friends or family in the industry, blocking wider access and opportunity.

Many Black television professionals still report being labelled as ‘diversity hires’, which negatively impacts their confidence and feeling of belonging in the industry. Black-Caribbean respondents and those from working-class backgrounds report heightened feelings of exclusion.

Another major problem found by the report is in programme commissioning, with Black stories often viewed as commercially risky, leading to missed opportunities for richer, more authentic storytelling.

The recommendations for improvement are grouped into four categories - breaking the mid-career bottleneck, commission, diversity initiatives, and racism, bullying and inclusion failures.

To help with career bottlenecks, the authors’ suggestions include developing a national fellowship scheme to offer structured leadership training, shadowing, and commissioning exposure for Black professionals, setting up a centralised database for Black talent and supporting Black creatives though industry showcases.

The television industry could tackle the problems with commissioning for example by incentivising Black-led narratives and requiring commissioning teams to complete anti-bias training.

Diversity initiatives should move away from entry-level programmes towards structural change. This includes moving away from informal, network-based recruitment to structured, clear processes, and formalising promotion pathways.

The television industry can tackle racism and bullying through zero-tolerance harassment policies, independent reporting mechanisms and sanctions, inclusive leadership training and developing mental health resources specifically tailored to Black professionals.

Professor Wood said:

“We can hear the voices of frustration in this survey and the data is clear about the problems. It’s time for the industry to use this evidence to take the next steps to deliver real, systemic change.”

Black Leaders in TV founders Nadia Afiari and Annika Allen Gray said:

“The findings make clear that, for UK television to truly reflect its diverse audiences and unlock creative innovation, the industry must move beyond surface-level diversity efforts. There needs to be support in place for Black professionals, greater transparency in recruitment and progression, and a fundamental shift towards inclusive, equitable workplace cultures.”

Visit https://www.aston.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2025-07/Black_in_Focus_report.pdf to read Black in Focus in full.


Aston University-led report exposes persistent barriers for Black professionals in the UK television industry

This is the video of an interview with Professor Helen Wood, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at Lancaster University by Distinguished Professor Beverley Skeggs, the Director for the Centre for Alternatives to Social and Economic Inequalities.

Professor Wood offers a discussion of her innovative text in action methodology and how forms of media frame and discuss the world around them, as well as their relationship to conceptualising and articulating relationships of inequality.

Helen is on Twitter (https://twitter.com/helentellywood) and is currently working on a British Academy funded project with Dr Stuart Hanson (De Montfort University) entitled 'Silver Screens and the Town'.

Researching Inequalities: Helen Wood

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