FCC initiates gender and race scorecard for broadcasters

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a race and gender scorecard for each and every TV and radio broadcast station in the United States.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a gender and race scorecard on October 26, 2023, although this proposal gained little traction and media coverage at the time.

The scorecard is a tool that allows the public to see how broadcasters are doing in terms of hiring and promoting women and minorities. The scorecard is based on data that broadcasters are required to submit to the FCC under the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1964.

The FCC has said that the scorecard is intended to help broadcasters identify areas where they can improve their diversity and inclusion practices.

The scorecard has been praised by some civil rights groups, who say it will help to hold broadcasters accountable for their hiring practices. However, the scorecard has also been criticized by some broadcasters, who say it is unfair and will lead to discrimination against white men.

The FCC has often been seen as the frontrunner for broadcasting regulations around the world, with many national broadcasters in other nations using the FCC’s method of navigating as a blueprint for their own agencies, often adopting the FCC’s regulations and working them into their own.

Broadcasters in the Caribbean for example benefit from the FCC’s work through their established technical guidelines allowing for compatibility and efficiency. The FCC also publishes best practices and guidelines for all aspects of broadcasting including content regulation, disaster preparedness, consumer protection and so on. While these are more than likely to influence broadcasters around the world, FCC regulations only act as a firm authority in the United States.

This newest move however has split stakeholders into two, including members of the FCC panel such as Brendan Carr, who has remained very outspoken in his disapproval of this new requirement going so far as to write a six page “dissenting statement”.

Carr writes “The FCC caves to the demands of activist groups that have worked for years and across different industries to persuade the federal government to obtain—and most importantly publish—this type of data about individual businesses”

Carr goes on to say “The record makes clear that the FCC is choosing to publish these scorecards for one and only one reason: to ensure that individual businesses are targeted and pressured into making decisions based on race and gender.”

Elon Musk, X CEO, echoes Carr’s concerns and shares the statement of dissent on X.

[embed]https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1760823440674832664[/embed]

The rules will apply to all television and radio broadcasters licenced by the FCC, including both commercial and non-commercial stations.

The rules prohibit discrimination in hiring, promotions, training, and other employment practices based on race, colour, religion, national origin, or gender.

If the decision moves forward, the FCC will require broadcasters to submit an annual Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) report detailing ethnicity, gender and race under various job categories.