Publishers failing to improve racial and regional diversity, survey finds

Despite concentration of publishers in London, only 11% of respondents identified as BAME – significantly lower than average of 40% in the city

A major survey of the UK’s publishing workforce has found that “significant progress” still needs to be made on both the numbers of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff and improving regional diversity, with the majority of those working in the industry coming from London and the south east.

According to the survey of 6,432 individuals working for 42 organisations, which the Publishers Association described as the most comprehensive ever conducted of the UK industry, 11.6% of respondents identified as BAME – lower than the UK population (14%), and significantly lower than London (40.2%). The results echo those of a 2017 online survey of 1,000 publishers that found 90% of the workforce was white.

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