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"Diversity Work is one of the most original Australian podcasts to emerge in recent years, both in genre and its unique production methods."

Louisa Lim, The Saturday Paper

"... the most delicious skewering of tokenistic attempts by mainstream media to be more inclusive."

Siobhan McHugh, The Conversation

"... everyone staging a writers' room in Australia (or giving notes!) should be forced to listen."

Kirsty Stark, CrewHQ

"... awkward, confronting, enraging and bitterly funny, but the discomfort serves a purpose."

Louisa Lim, The Saturday Paper

"Lurching from cringe-inducing to savage satire ... it's a tribute to all that I could not tell for several episodes if I was listening to fact or fiction."

Siobhan McHugh, The Conversation

Diversity Work logo a television screen showing colourbars

Diversity Work is a 5-part fictional podcast series that invites you into a television writers’ room embroiled in a social media storm. When a television network is accused of racism, a diverse group of writers is quickly brought together and asked to come up with an idea that “ticks all the diversity boxes” at once. The writers soon realise they are being used for their diverse identities and are forced to deal with the personal and professional consequences.

 

​The work is created, directed and edited by Pearl Tan, and co-created with nine screen practitioners with lived experience of the challenges of being from a diverse background in the screen industry. The podcast employs long-form improvisation, which unleashes remarkable performances from the co-creators – it’s difficult to believe this work is fictional.

The Co-creators of the Diversity Work podcast

Co-creators TL to BR: Pearl Tan, Ana Maria Belo, Priya Roy, Moreblessing Maturure, George Coles, Maddison Coles, Jane Park, Amy Stewart, Suzy Wrong & Emily Dash

Numerous laurels and accolades for the Diversity Work podcast

Critical acclaim

Diversity Work was released in November of 2023. Two episodes were published on 7 November 2023, and the remaining three episodes were then released at weekly intervals. In Australia, Diversity Work reached number one in the Apple Fictional Podcast charts and peaked at number 12 in the Spotify Fictional Podcast charts. The podcast has been listened to in over 60 countries.

 

The work has been critically and popularly acclaimed, having being nominated for and winning multiple awards including:

  • The Webby Awards, winner of Webby Award and the People’s Voice Award in the Podcast – Scripted (Fiction) category

  • The Signal Awards, Gold Winner for Best Editing, Silver Winner for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Bronze Winner for Most Innovative Listening Experience

  • New York Festivals Radio Awards, Silver Award for Innovation, and Finalist Awards in the Writing, Director and Drama Podcast categories

  • ANZ Radio Today award for Best Fictional Podcast

  • Australian Podcast Awards awarded Pearl Tan with the Rising Star Award for the creation and distribution of Diversity Work

  • Nominated for an Australian Writers’ Guild AWGIE Award for best Audio Fiction script

  • Selections and nominations in the International Women’s Podcast Awards, NZ Web Fest, T.O. Web Fest, Minnesota Web Fest, Apulia Web Fest, NJ Web Fest, Baltimore Next Media Web Fest, LA Web Fest, International Media Festival of Wales, Cusco Web Fest, Lonely Wolf International Film Festival, Climax Film Festival, Swedish International Film Festival, Beyond the Curve Film Festival, Sydney Web Fest and Melbourne Web Fest

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To learn more about Diversity Work:

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