Diversity in Media

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.