APA x Shiny 2026: What’s Next For Diversity?

2025 Highlights:

For the second annual Diversity roundtable at the Kinsale Sharks, APA and Shiny brought industry leaders together for an open, honest conversation about the current state of DEI in our industry – a space to reflect on progress and set practical, achievable goals for 2026.

The overarching aim of the roundtable remained the same: every company must have a DEI policy. It’s the most basic building block, but an essential one for wider change. This year, we’re pushing for real movement, with a target of 90% of companies meeting this requirement – compared with the 60% of roundtable attendees who reported having one in place.

2024 Summary:

We asked all companies to sign up to the APA’s DEI 2025 Strategy, which has 8 action points, including publicly displaying a DEI policy as its first step. However, sign-ups fell short of where we hoped they would be.

We explored why:

• Many companies felt unsure where to start, or how detailed their policy needed to be.
• Fear of “getting it wrong” – a recurring theme was the worry that a policy might be judged as insufficient or imperfect.

As part of the 2025 roundtable, we discussed that the only wrong move is doing nothing. DEI work is progressive by nature: you start, you refine, and you improve. A good policy reflects authenticity, accountability and a willingness to learn.

To support anyone at the beginning of this journey, the APA offers a boilerplate DEI policy template – a simple, practical starting point that companies can personalise and expand.

What should a DEI policy include?

We outlined the core elements of an effective policy:

• State clear commitments to DEI and anti-discrimination.
• Define key terms so your intentions are transparent and unambiguous.
• Outline recruitment and hiring practices that aim to widen access and representation.
• Describe inclusive workplace behaviours, expectations and codes of conduct. The APA has a template Code of Conduct you can access here.
• Commit to reasonable adjustments and accessibility across physical and online spaces.
• Detail reporting routes for discrimination or exclusion – with clear processes for handling concerns. (We encourage use of the APA Complaints Process template here)
• Highlight accountability structures: determine who is responsible for implementation and oversight.
• Set goals for ongoing improvement and explain how progress will be measured.
• Reference training and resources offered to staff.
• Ensure the policy is publicly available (or at least a DEI statement outlining your ethos) – because transparency builds trust – and attracts like-minded agencies and brands.

Looking forward:

In response to feedback that the 2024 goals felt overwhelming, the group agreed that 2025–2026 should focus on just two achievable actions to support DEI policies becoming an industry-wide standard:

1. Establish why DEI is important to your company.
2. Assign designated DEI champions or accountability leads within each company – with the understanding that DEI should be embedded across everybody’s role.

For companies that are working towards incorporating DEI further, they can aim to adopt the 8-step 2025 DEI Action Strategy, which includes advice on how to achieve each step.

Accountability:

To make these goals stick, we agreed on a structured support plan:

• A mid-year roundtable ahead of Kinsale Sharks 2026 – a space to check in, share progress, and troubleshoot challenges.
• 1:1 check-in meetings – helping members stay on track. These will involve visiting members or reviewing their materials to understand their gaps, identify areas for support, as well as highlight progress. The intention isn’t scrutiny or tick-boxing but sharing progress and providing practical support where needed.

Key takeaways from table discussions:

• Actively build awareness at your company of the challenges faced by marginalised groups within the industry.
• Establish ways which work for your company to accurately measure progress and impact.
• Understand the commercial impact of inclusive advertising, including stronger pricing power, higher engagement and increased consumer loyalty.
• Recognise that DEI is both a moral imperative and a driver of clear business benefits, and be aware of the hindrances associated with remaining stagnant.
• Increase transparency of your policies in order to demonstrate your commitment to agencies and brands choosing their next production partners.
• Share resources to help members source diverse crew more efficiently (e.g., Just Runners, Iconic Steps, The Kusp, Mama Youth). Full list of APA Talent resources can be found here.
• Use inclusive call sheets and employee handbooks (where applicable).
• Attend DEI events and trainings to deepen knowledge and support underrepresented communities.
• Review your diverse hiring policies. Actively nurture junior staff and ensure they feel psychologically safe to raise issues with senior leaders.

Thank you to everyone who came along and shared their insights!

A big thank you also to our event hosts and table leaders:

• Charlotte Fraser, APA
• Caroline Bottomley, Shiny
• Kojo Abban, LS Productions
• Lorraine Fearon, Framestore
• Morgan Whitlock, Sweetshop
• Prudence Beecroft, Not Just Any
• Ronae Rayson, HunkyDory Films

Resources:

• APA DEI policy template
• APA DEI 2025 Strategy
• Parental leave policy
• Template Code of Conduct and Complaints Procedure
• Casting Brief template created in collaboration with the IPA

If you’d like to chat more or you need access to any of the above resources, please contact [email protected]. To find out more about Shiny, please contact [email protected].