TONY HALL, the director-General of the BBC has paid tribute to Dame Jocelyn Barrow, who died last week. 

Dame Jocelyn, a pioneering race equality campaigner and educator, was 91.

During the course of a career that spanned six decades, she held a number of high profile appointments and government positions in addition to her community and campaigning work.

Among her many achievements was becoming the first black woman to be Governor of the BBC in 1981, a position she held until 1988.

Prior to her appointment the corporation had been accused of underserving black and minority ethnic audiences and having very little diversity amongst its staff or in senior positions.

It was a criticism that became a national talking point when, in 2001, then director-general Greg Dyke described the corporation as being hideously white”, and acknowledged difficulties retaining minority staff.

In a statement given to The Voice Hall said: “As the first black woman to become a governor of the BBC, Dame Jocelyn Barrow changed the face of leadership within broadcasting and helped to pave the way for all those that have come after her. Her tireless work to progress race relations in the UK and the profound impact she had on the industry is still felt today.”  

Dame Jocelyn was also the founder and deputy chair of the Broadcasting Standards Council, the forerunner of Ofcom, between 1989 and 1995. 

Among the other influential positions she held was Governor of the Commonwealth Institute, Vice-president of the United Nations Association in the UK and Northern Ireland and a Patron of the Brixton-based Black Cultural Archives. 

In 1972 she was awarded the OBE for work in the field of education and community relations.

In 1992 she received the DBE for her work in broadcasting and also her contribution to the work of the European Union as the UK Member of the Social Economic Committee.

In 2003 she was voted one of the “100 Great Black Britons” in a campaign launched by Every Generation Media.

Among the many people who paid tribute to her was former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott.

She told The Voice: “Without the work of her generation of activists, black and brown people in this country could never have achieved the advances we see today. Rest in power Dame Jocelyn.”