April is Celebrate Diversity Month, and while the cable industry embraces and pursues diversity within its business and workforce all year long, this month is a good time to reflect on the diversity and inclusion efforts throughout the internet and television world, and how diversity and inclusion continue to serve as a cornerstone for the industry.
For decades, the cable industry has committed towards diversifying its workforce and taking a stance for a more inclusive world. The industry has also prided itself on celebrating diversity in all facets of its business, throughout its workforce, on the screen and behind the scenes. The culmination of these efforts is seen during the industry's annual Diversity Week held every year in the fall, when leaders from cable TV networks and operators come together to advocate for better diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.
The Walter Kaitz Foundation, which fundraises for and promotes programs that give people of color opportunities for leadership and growth in the business, serves as a catalyst for further advancing the industry's ongoing commitment to workforce diversity and inclusive storytelling. The Foundation has a robust grants program to fund various initiatives, including the cable industry's biennial diversity survey which is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the industry in advancing diverse hiring and professional development initiatives.
Cable operators and TV networks also host their own plethora of events and initiatives dedicated towards diversity and inclusion. These include workforce groups within their businesses that focus on providing opportunities for people of color to move up the company's executive ranks. Other initiatives focus on not just promoting the importance of diversity in greater society, but on ramping up anti-racist efforts and spreading awareness about systemic racism and injustice and ways to rebuild towards a more inclusive and just world. Whether it’s through leveraging strong community partnerships throughout the country or utilizing its airways to distribute this message, or by creating programming that give people of color prominent and leading roles on screen and behind the scenes, the cable industry understands the pivotal role that it plays in forming an inclusive culture in America.
In fact, in the past couple of years, cable operators and TV programmers have doubled down on their efforts to advance diversity and inclusion in various ways, whether through an increase in funds towards multiyear programs dedicated to fighting injustice and inequality, or towards developing diverse talent in the workforce or on the screen. Several cable networks also unveiled their most diverse and inclusive slate of programming yet over the past year, and they continue to take steps towards ensuring that people of color and of diverse backgrounds are represented equally and in a just manner on screen.
As the month kicks off, it's important to acknowledge the strides that have been made in prioritizing diversity in the business and in eradicating social injustice in greater society. But it's also important to acknowledge all the work that remains to be done, continue to seek opportunities that will allow for more inclusive workplace environments, to create better pathways for people of color, and to loudly advocate for a more diverse and equitable America.
To learn more about the cable industry’s dedication towards diversity and inclusion, read more here. Also check back later this month for more stories on how the cable industry fosters the values of diversity and inclusion throughout its workforce and to the audiences its serves.