In a long piece for The Atlanic, Dan Sinykin and Richard Jean So present the results of a DEI study centered on books published by Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan over the last four years. Hachette was excluded from So’s previous study, so it was excluded this time as well for consistency. The study found significant gains in the number of novels published by non-white authors: Between 2019 and 2023, novels by non-white authors rose from 9% to 16%, and novels by Black authors rose from 4% to 9%. The data set for these results is […]
Diversity
HBG Ups BIPOC Book Publishing As Employee Diversity Is Flat
Hachette Book Group released its annual diversity report, noting marginal increases over the previous year. In a statement, VP and chief diversity officer Carrie Bloxson said, “In 2020, HBG committed to openly reporting on our efforts to address the critical diversity gap within our staff and publishing programs. Our annual reporting reflects our dedication and transparency in this mission. Enhancing representation in HBG’s leadership, workplaces, and publishing initiatives is paramount to fulfilling our Changing the Story goal of creating inclusive publishing that resonates with all readers and accurately reflects our diverse society. We remain deeply dedicated to this work as […]
Publishing Diversifies Slightly in Race, Sexual Orientation, Disability
Lee & Low’s 2023 Diversity Baseline Survey shows “incremental” changes in publishing industry demographics in North America, with movement in the categories of race, sexual orientation, and disability. “Employers are routinely vociferous about their commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) initiatives without implementing the transparent means to monitor results,” they said. “We know institutional change takes time to bear fruit, which is why revisiting the survey every few years is so vital.” In racial makeup, 72.5 percent of respondents identify as white, down from 76 percent in 2019 and 79 percent in 2015. “There are many possible reasons for this change: […]
PRH Releases New Workforce DEI Stats, Plans To Increase Diverse Content
Penguin Random House released its DEI report for 2022-2023, with updated workforce demographics and plans for diversifying their book lists. In non-warehouse positions, 70.05 percent of employees are white, 10.57 percent are Asian, 9.45 percent are Hispanic, 6.04 percent are Black, and 2.92 percent are two or more races. White employees are still over-indexed in the company compared to the US population (60 percent white based on 2020 census data). Each job category has diversified slightly since last year, with BIPOC employees making up 36.9 percent of entry level positions and 19.1 percent of executive positions. Looking at gender, 73.75 […]
Scholastic Creates Separate Diverse Books Collection For Elementary School Book Fairs
Following Reddit reports from librarians in September, the Mary Sue recently asserted that to comply with country-wide book bans Scholastic Book Fairs has grouped diverse titles into a separate, optional or excludable a la carte case. On Friday, Scholastic released a statement claiming, “The biggest misconception is that Scholastic Book Fairs is putting all diverse titles into one optional case. This is not true, in any school, in any location we serve.” The company notes the legislation “enacted or pending” in more than 30 states restricting books predominantly about LGBTQ+ and BIPOC experiences in schools. “Because Scholastic Book Fairs are […]
HBG Increased BIPOC Staff in 2022, Though Leadership Diversity Fell
Hachette Book Group released their fourth annual update on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, with data from 2022. In 2022, 36.4 percent of the company’s workforce was made up of BIPOC employees, an increase in representation in “nearly every publishing group and non-publishing division.” Within that, 4.2 percent of staff are Black, 21.4 percent are Hispanic/Latinx, 7.4 percent are Asian, and 3.1 percent are two or more races. Among new hires, 61 percent identify as BIPOC, up from 54 percent in 2021. Diversity at the VP level was stagnant at 17.9 percent, and declined at the director level to 21.6 […]