SURVEY RESULTS “ The data


suggests that new entrants to the industry are being drawn from a wider range of communities


”


The survey drew responses from a wide cross-section of roles. Editorial is best represented with 29% of respondents, with 11% and 12% from sales and marketing respectively. About 26% of respondents are managing directors, chief executives, or a partner in or director of their company.Women account for 69% of responses.


Opinions about diversity vary slightly according to department and seniority. Of the managing directors and chief executives who responded, 28%, regard their company as culturally diverse, but 30% admit it is not.About 33% think their company has mod- erate cultural diversity. At officer or executive level, the respective figures are 18% and 28%. Those at the top of companies are often accused of being complacent about cultural diversity, but the sur- vey uncovered a general consensus that under-reresentation of minority ethnic groups should be addressed.


Wider range As well as working in a range of departments, respondents from minority ethnic communities work across a range of organisa- tional sizes. Only 4% are self-employed or freelance, while 27% are in companies with more than 500 employees. The circulation of the survey by human resources departments in conglomerate publishers may have weighted these results in favour of large organisations. The data suggests that new entrants to the industry are being


drawn from a wider range of communities. The vast majority of minority ethnic respondents—84%—are below the age of 40,


12 MARCH 2004


a missed opportunityINSIDE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MARKET


Publishers could miss out on a substantial market for literature among minority ethnic communities if they fail to employ staff who have an inside knowledge of those markets. According to the 2003 Arts Council England and Office of National Statistics report Focus on Cultural Diversity, minority ethnic communities are heavily involved in literary pursuits from reading to creative writing. The under- representation of these groups in the industry is made more apparent when compared to their interest in literature and the arts. The proportion of Black people reading for pleasure is, according to


the data, 72%. The proportion among the Asian population is 61%. Minority ethnic groups are well above average in their involvement in creative writing, a fact that is not reflected by publishers’ white lists. About 7% of Black and 10% of mixed ethnicity people had written stories or plays in the past year, compared to the national figure of 4%. Minority ethnic users also beat the overall national figure for public library use. According to the survey, 47% of all people had visited a public library


in the past year, but among Asian, Black, Chinese and other ethnic groups the number of library users was higher than the national figure by as much as 10%. The opportunities presented to the publishing industry by minority ethnic communities is not lost on respondents to the decibel survey. But many feel that the industry will struggle to take advantage of these opportunities if it does not employ a more diverse workforce.


IN FULL COLOUR 5


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