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.
A successful career in journalism needs a start point, and that is why Richard Tait tells his students to focus on securing that all-important first job. Assuming they have the right skills and attitude, opportunities will flow from there.
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.
The abuse of female journalists is a scourge on the media sector, impacting the careers and mental health of the women themselves and diminishing the industry as a whole. Dr Rebecca Whittington looks at what can be done about it.
Important things need doing, but how can they get done, when no one has any time.
Reach has announced that it is launching a new recruitment scheme aimed at improving social mobility in its newsrooms.
Forbes has revealed its 2023 “50 Over 50” list, highlighting women who are challenging age and gender norms.
The Independent and Galaxy have announced their campaign to promote female empowerment through The Ripple Effect.
Alison Gow, former audience and content director at Reach plc, has been awarded a fellowship of the Society of Editors.
The PPA have announced the winners of the PPA Awards 2023.
Eleven new members, including eight women executives, were elected to serve on WAN-IFRA’s supervisory board of directors at its General Assembly of Members on 29 June 2023.
The PPA has announced the selection of its inaugural Next Gen Board.
The Financial Times has announced that the FT Newsroom Apprentice programme, in partnership with the Manchester Evening News (M.E.N), is open to applicants.
Oxford University Press has shared its latest Responsible Publishing Report reflecting on the steps the publisher has taken to operate sustainably.
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) has announced it has been certified as a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, for its work in recruiting, retaining and developing disabled staff.
LGBTQ+ people frequently face negativity in some parts of the media. What can be done about it?
