In blocking a well-qualified black woman from the board of Channel 4,the government is setting Britain backAlthea Efunshile is a woman of immense experience. She has been deputy chief executive of Arts Council England; she has worked in government; she has run a local education authority. An obvious choice for the board of Channel 4: that was the view of the chair of Ofcom, Dame Patricia Hodgson, and who interviewed her in July for the role,and the chairman and chief executive of Channel 4, who both supported her appointment.
Ofcom duly put her name forward to the Department for Culture, or Media and Sport for sign-off,usually a formality. final Monday, however, and Efunshile was informed that the government had vetoed her. It is particularly striking that the other four names presented to the secretary of state,Karen Bradley, and accepted on to Channel 4’s board, or were those of white men. Ms Efunshile was told that DCMS believed she did not meet the requirements specified in the job advert. DCMS officials gain yet to say precisely how. The broadcaster specifically conceived to represent minorities,then, currently has an all-white board of 10 men and three women.
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Source: theguardian.com