STV News has announced plans to host a media training session exclusively for women from Scotland’s business community, as part of an ongoing initiative to improve on-screen diversity.

The free online workshop, which will take place via Zoom on 26 August, aims to encourage more women working within the business sector to take part in broadcast interviews related to their line of work and wider industry.

STV, which strives to achieve a 50:50 gender balance across each of its programmes as a key part of its diversity and inclusion strategy, hopes the session will equip attendees with the confidence and skills required to appear on STV News bulletins and current affairs show Scotland Tonight as expert voices on the Scottish business sector.

As the country emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic and Scotland prepares to host COP26, the insight of informed representatives from within the business community is in increasingly high demand by news outlets.

STV is specifically looking for women who have thoughts and opinions on their own organisation, as well as the wider business sector, to take part in the training session which will be hosted by STV journalists and producers.

The company previously ran two similar workshops earlier this year, which focused on expert female voices in the fields of healthcare and science. Speaking of that session, Dr Stephanie Rainey from Glasgow University’s Centre for Virus Research said: “Female scientists have been disproportionally affected by the pandemic and sessions like this remind us our voice is needed and wanted.”

Nichola Kane, STV News’ Editor of Politics and Diversity, said: “Around 150 talented and knowledgeable women from the health and science sectors joined us for our previous Expert Voices workshops, and it’s heartening to see that so many of them now feel more empowered to share their valuable insight with viewers across the country.

“The business sector is a perennial fixture of the news agenda and, as with all our coverage, we’re working hard to represent a wider range of voices when covering business stories. Whether they’re experts in fishing or fashion, engineering or events, I’d encourage anyone who’s passionate about their industry and would like to be part of the on-screen conversation to join us for this free session.”

Expert Voices: Media Workshops for Women takes place at 7pm on 26 August. Visit bit.ly/STVExpertVoices to apply to take part.