Most publishers can now tell you how diverse their workforce is. Fewer can say whether the people they hired are still there five years later, or whether anything changed on the page as a result.
That gap is where the useful work happens. Immediate audited its business, published an ethnicity pay gap report and moved to blind recruitment. News UK rebuilt its intake around apprenticeships rather than graduate schemes, which shifted its gender and ethnicity mix and kept 80 per cent of recruits. Class is the stubborn one: only a small minority of journalists come from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and unpaid internships keep it that way.
If their only chance of promotion is to ape the bosses’ thinking, then your efforts will fail.
Joseph Harker Diversity: more than just a numbers game
Content is the other half. Inclusive coverage has opened up new audiences for some titles, and misjudged coverage has damaged trust for others. Small publishers have shown it doesn't take a big budget to make a start.
The worry now is drift. Industry surveys show diversity slipping down the list of priorities for a third year running, just as publishers chase the younger and broader audiences it would help them reach.
Below you'll find some of our best feature articles on diversity in media, from recruitment, apprenticeships and class to representation, age and inclusive content, alongside our latest news and industry commentary.
Making UK media more diverse is not simply a question of employing more people from different backgrounds. The jobs you give them and the way you treat them is equally important.
The latest AOP CRUNCH event was titled, ‘Investing in the future: How wider perspectives lead to inclusive narratives and engaged audiences’. The AOP’s Richard Reeves picks out the main talking points.
Paying lip service to improved diversity and inclusion is one thing, putting someone in charge of putting it right is another. Ridhi Radia, who was given that role at Immediate Media, explains why ED&I matters and outlines the steps they have taken.
Are we ready to admit it?, asks Mark Hudson. The journalism pipeline is broken. To fix it, News UK is investing heavily in its apprenticeship scheme, which has brought fresh and diverse new talent into the business.
The results are in for the AOP’s annual ‘Digital Publishing: Outlook and Priorities’ survey. Richard Reeves summarises the main findings.
In terms of female representation in the newsroom, progress is being made, but we mustn’t get complacent because there is still lots of work to be done. For a start, says Jem Collins, we need to broaden our definition of diversity and accessibility.
As an industry, we often talk a good game when it comes to diversity but are we putting up barriers to prospective non-middle-class journalists?
Most forms of discrimination are experienced by minority groups; a few by majority groups. But there’s one that could potentially affect all of us and that’s ageism, laments Dickon Ross.
Research suggests that diverse companies are more commercially successful than non-diverse ones. What do publishers need to do to improve their diversity and, thereby, profitability?
Diversity and inclusion should not be an ‘initiative’ but should be hardwired into your everyday. That, writes Ciar Byrne, is the approach taken by Uwern Jong, founder and editor-in-chief of OutThere.
The newly created roles will focus on reporting on the social, political and economic experiences of the UK’s diverse communities, with a particular focus on black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.
It was a year dominated by the coronavirus which, while driving huge media audiences, played havoc with advertising and sales revenues as well as jobs. Jon Slattery chooses his quotes of the year.
Embracing difference while championing unity sounds like a contradiction in terms. Yet perfecting this balancing act is the challenge faced by Premier Christianity – a Christian magazine, its editor, Sam Hailes, and, well, the Christian church.
We all need to do more to increase diversity because, ultimately, greater diversity and inclusivity is what will dictate magazines’ future success, writes Meg Carter.
Roula Khalaf started her editorship in January, full of ambitious plans for what she would achieve in her first 100 days. And then Covid (“the biggest story ever”) struck. Khalaf talks Ray Snoddy through her eventful first year in charge.
Reach has appointed Dr Julie Humphreys as Head of Diversity and Inclusion.
WAN-IFRA Women in News (WIN) and City, University of London, are now entering the second phase of a major research study into sexual harassment in the media workplace.
Pageant Media has announced the acquisition of Falk Marques Group, an independent conference and media company focused on advancing women in private equity, venture capital and alternatives.
LGBT Great and Incisive Media have signed an exclusive partnership to accelerate progress of the LGBT+ agenda across the investment, pensions, wealth management and savings industry.
Bauer Media has signed up to the UK government’s new ‘kickstart’ scheme, in the latest step in the company’s commitment to greater diversity and inclusion.
IOP Publishing has signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment as part of its commitment to support more equitable, inclusive approaches to research evaluation.
Cocoa Girl will be launching in selected Sainsburys, Waitrose, WH Smith and independent stores on 22nd October 2020.
The Metro has announced it will be launching a monthly edition of its lifestyle newsletter to talk about race in the UK.
This week, News UK announced the launch of Studio PI, an independent photography and illustration agency that champions talent from underrepresented backgrounds in the creative industry.
The Sun has launched a special series to celebrate Black History Month, featuring Lewis Hamilton, Maya Jama, Trevor McDonald and Alison Hammond.
