 but will then ask for more detail about those who are trans and non-binary. This will include if they 'identify as a gender that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth', and how many are 'man / trans man', 'woman / trans woman', 'non-binary' and 'queer'. Ofcom said its decision to continue asking people for their sex was consistent with the approach taken by the Office for National Statistics, adding that it allowed officials to examine issues such as whether women are leaving the industry when they have children or get older. But it said it was also "important for us to have a better understanding of the representation of and barriers facing trans people and people with minority gender identities". Elsewhere, the regulator will add the options of 'asexual', 'pansexual' and 'queer' in a section on sexual orientation, which previously only offered 'heterosexual/straight', 'gay men', 'gay women / lesbian', 'bisexual' and 'other' as options, as well as 'preferred not to say'. Pansexual people are sexually att){kind=link}
Regulator seeks to better understand gender identity of employees at major broadcasters
The media watchdog is to start measuring how many trans and pansexual employees work at the BBC and other major broadcasters in a push to improve diversity.
Ofcom is to collect the data as part of an annual questionnaire for television and radio producers, with the aim of identifying areas where “underrepresentation for certain groups of people may exist”.
This means changes to how the regulator collects data about sexual orientation, gender identity, race and disabilities.
The regulator also found in a separate report that 16pc of staff at left-leaning Channel 4 are privately educated, the highest proportion among the eight major broadcasters it examined.