2024 workforce report published
The Publishers Association has released the UK Publishing Workforce: Diversity, inclusion and belonging in 2024 report based on responses from 9,707 people working in 52 publishing companies.
Key findings from the 2024 survey include:
- Significant increase in staff living outside of London. The proportion of respondents living in London has decreased by 10 percentage points, now accounting for 35%. Meanwhile, the South East has seen a rise in respondents, increasing from 21% to 27% between 2022 and 2024.
- Female representation remains high. Just over two in three respondents identify as female (68%), a slight increase since 2022 (66%).
- LGB+ representation remains high. The publishing industry continues to foster a diverse workforce in terms of LGB+, with 16% of respondents identifying as LGB+ (15% in 2022), as compared to the general UK population (3%).
- Ethnic minority representation has reduced by 2 percentage points, with a specific decline in numbers of Asian and British Asian staff. Ethnic minority representation in publishing has increased in London from 17% to 23%.
- Representation from lower socio-economic backgrounds remains an area for improvement. Two thirds of respondents (65%) came from professional backgrounds – on a par with the 2022 results (66%).
Dan Conway, CEO of the Publishers Association, said:
“The 2024 results demonstrate the sector’s strong representation of women and LGB+ people, and data shows more staff living outside of London. However, it has also highlighted areas that need significant industry focus. We know that we need to work hard as a sector to encourage more people from lower socio-economic backgrounds into the industry. We also need to work hard to understand the disappointing drop in Asian and British Asian staff since the 2022 survey.
“This is not just a moral imperative but makes business sense. A workforce that is reflective of the UK will enable the industry to tell authentic, compelling and original stories relevant to our society. Working with Creative Access and our Diversity Working Group, we will be focusing on specific and targeted activities to support the publishing sector in these areas in 2025 and beyond.”
Josie Dobrin OBE, Executive Chair & Co-founder of Creative Access, said:
“Forging a creative career has never been an easy road to travel. And for people from marginalised or under-represented communities it’s toughest of all. At Creative Access we know from our experience with other employers, that the issues faced in publishing are echoed in other creative industries.
“We need to double down and re-state our commitment to creating a more inclusive publishing industry. We are determined that the results of the survey will not be put on the shelf. We have already held some listening sessions with key stakeholders and identified areas to explore in the year ahead. We will introduce interventions that are driven by, and rooted in, the needs of those they are aimed at; ones that deliver lasting results and secure the best talent and ideas for the sector.”
As we work to understand and address the issues behind the results in this report, we will work over the coming year to:
- Produce guidance documents on inclusive recruitment and to support staff retention, with a specific focus on people from under-represented backgrounds
- Signpost mentoring and career development opportunities – and identify gaps in provision which we can seek to address
- Build on our existing work to better explain to potential recruits, advisers and teachers, the variety of roles and skills needed to enter the publishing sector and to demonstrate career pathways and progression routes
- Work collaboratively to design the next iteration of our Inclusivity Action Plan for 2026 onwards
You can read the full report here.