Diversity survey of the publishing workforce 2018

The survey is the second of its kind, with the first in 2017 being used as the basis for the Publishers Association’s 10-point Inclusivity Action Plan and two related five-year targets – which aim for at least 50% of leadership positions and executive-level roles to be occupied by women and 15% of publishing employees to be BAME by 2022.

As part of the plan, a commitment was made to undertake an annual survey every year for the next five years and use this information to help effectively focus inclusivity work.

Key findings of the 2018 survey include:

• 54% of senior leadership and executive-level roles were held by women (56% in senior leadership roles and 48% at executive-level)
• 11.6% of respondents identified as BAME
• 8.2% of individuals identified as LGB, which is more than four times that of the estimated UK population (2%) and just over three times that of the estimated London population (2.7%)*
• 0.6% of respondents identified as transgender with a further 0.8% of respondents preferring another term. Combined, this is higher than the UK population forecast for individuals that are gender nonconforming (1.4% vs 1%)**
• 5.4% of respondents identified as having a disability or impairment and 25.5% of those who stated their type of disability identified as having a mental health condition