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Multiple pieces of research, as well as anecdotal evidence, have suggested that the publishing industry has a serious diversity and inclusion problem. According to the UK Publishers Association’s 2021 Diversity Report, progress in book publishing, for example, in the areas of women’s leadership, LGBT+ employment, and disability is being made, but there’s slower movement for Black, Asian, and minority ethnicities. Likewise, in Goldsmith University’s RE:THINKING ‘Diversity’ in Publishing report, there was, authors report, “a strong sense that publishers need to do better” when it comes to diversity,. The report called on members of the profession to recognise “structural inequalities and that people of colour are not afforded the same opportunities or freedoms as their white peers.” The picture when it comes to magazine publishing, the type of publishing done by media behemoth Immediate Media, is similar. Hearst, another one of the leading names in magazine publishing, released its 2021 Diversity & Inclusion Overview recently, which showed that 73% of its employees are white, rising to a concerning 78% for managers “and above”. Conde Nast’s 2020 Diversity and Inclusion report similarly showed that 68% of US staff (the only breakdown available) were white. Nobody will ever completely crack it… The
