Diversity and inclusivity drives have come a long way in recent years – but perhaps that’s only because the bar was so low, that any achievement looked incredible.

There’s still a severe lack of inclusion across different facets of society, as well as tokenism, in which one person is used to tick a diversity box.

On top of this, there are a range of people whose conditions still aren’t given airtime.

Speech conditions, physical disabilities, neurodiversity, and mental illnesses are often overlooked.

Kirsten Howells, 47, has a stammer and her own personal acceptance of this was stifled by how stammering hasn’t yet been normalised.

She says: ‘When I was younger, I did everything I could to hide my stammer from the world and I’m sure a big factor driving that was the lack of “visibility” of stammering around me.

‘I felt weird, different, abnormal.

‘I used to be very distressed by any negative responses to my stammering, such as laughter or unhelpful comments such as “Have you forgotten your name?” and regard stammering as a personal failure on my part.

‘The lack of cultural representation of people with differences is hugely frustrating and, frankly, offensive.

‘We’re part of society. We vote. We use public services. We contribute to the economy. We pay taxes. We’re here and part of it all, yet we’re often invisible.

‘I think it is so important that this changes, and that representation improves to more accurately reflect the society in which we live.’

Kirsten now works with STAMMA charity and as a speech and language therapist, so she’s had first hand experience of the speech condition and helped those who struggle with their stammer.

The charity is running a petition, calling for greater stammer visibility in TV and radio all year round, not just on national stammering day.

Kristen continues: ‘There are actually lots of people – children and adults – out there who stammer but, when we watch TV or films, read books, or listen to radio or podcasts, you wouldn’t know that.

‘Stammered voices are few and far between and when they are present, they’re almost always only part of a conversation about stammering itself, rather than speaking about politics or climate change or public transport or health or comedy or art and literature or all the  other things we concern ourselves with.’

Poorna Bell, a journalist of Indian heritage, has often commented on how people considered minorities or ‘diverse’ rarely get to comment on things other than their difference.

The same goes here, when the most obvious example of stammering appearing on screen – The King’s Speech – is a film about stammering. Seldom does stammering feature simply because it is a normal part of life for 8% of children and 2% of UK adults.

Kirsten adds: ‘When the media better reflects society, when it shows society in all its diversity, we all learn.’

Not all conditions are so visible or audible, as Leo Capella, who has autism, experiences.

The 35-year-old works as a job coach at the National Autistic Society and helps with with script reviews for upcoming TV and film.

‘Many people learn about what life is like for autistic people through films and TV shows,’ he says.

‘It’s important these depictions of autism are realistic, so people really understand the challenges autistic people face – as well as the huge contributions autistic people make to our society.’

Having autism become better understood and normalised could have real life-changing impacts upon people.

Just 29% of those with autism are in employment, and Leo believes ‘better representation would help improve understanding of autism and tackle persistent stereotypes, helping us not just in terms of how many people are employed but where we’re employed, for instance in senior positions’.

‘It would make us part of the human landscape,’ he says.

Both Leo and Kirsten feel they have a long way to go to fully accepting their conditions – not helped by the fact wider society does too.

Leo adds: ‘I am hopeful for the future – there are things that could really change the game for autistic people in terms of representation.

‘There’s a huge amount of autistic talent breaking through gradually in literature and art (Holly Smale with Geek Girl, Chris Bonnello with Underdogs, Helen Hoang with The Kiss Quotient, among many others).’

However, it’s not just about being more visible. Will Pike, a 42-year-old who has used a wheelchair since 2008, believes people like him need to be creating narratives, not just starring in them.

Will tells us: ‘The phrase “Nothing about us, without us” is used by the disabled community to indicate that we don’t just want representation, we want agency.

‘We want to feel as if we are the ones defining our own existence and are not the beneficiaries of goodwill gestures from able-bodied people.

‘We need 360 degree inclusion – in front of the camera, behind the camera, in creative conversations and in board rooms.

‘We want what you’ve got: access to all areas.’

Will feels people with physical limits are ‘massively under-represented’ and so as a wheelchair user, he ‘exists outside of the norm’. Often, he says ‘brands want to ride the inclusion bandwagon’.

There is a huge payoff to be had in closing this gap – research shows 22% of people say seeing disabled people on screen improved their understanding of the condition at hand.

Will adds: ‘The frustration arises when you consider that without visibility comes a lack of provision.

‘By that I mean it falls on individuals to battle for reasonable adjustments on microcosmic scale, as opposed to feeling that your needs will be met in advance.

‘It’s almost impossible not to be an activist when you leave the house.’

Alison Kerry, head of communications at disability equality charity Scope, says: ‘There are over 14million disabled people in the country – that’s one in five of us, yet disability still remains hugely underrepresented across the board.

‘Too often advertisers reinforce the misrepresentation of the lives of disabled people and fall back on existing narratives that include inspiration or triumph in the face of adversity.

‘The reality is disabled people come from an incredibly diverse range of backgrounds and we need to see this, where their impairment or condition is not the main focus.’

Progress is being made, Leo believes, but it is slow.

Until diversity drives are inclusive of us all and are genuinely progressive, those outside of the catchment will continue to suffer the consequences.

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