Lee & Low Diversity Report
Lee & Low publishers have released their latest diversity survey, documenting ‘‘incremental’’ changes in the demographics of the publishing industry in North America. ‘‘We know institutional change takes time to bear fruit, which is why revisiting the survey every few years is so vital.’’ The survey reached out to executives and staff at 200 companies, including trade and academic presses, literary agencies, and review publications, and received over 8,600 responses.
Regarding race, 72.5% of those surveyed identified as white, down from 76% in 2019 and 79% in 2015. Among executives, 76.7% are white. Black and African respondents were 5.3%, a slight increase, while Hispanic/Latino/Mexican were 4.6%, down from 6% in the prior two surveys. American Indian/Alaskan Native/First Nations/Native American made up 0.1%, and Middle Eastern 0.5%.
In terms of gender, cis women made up 71.3% of survey respondents, and 62.9% of board members and execs. Cis men accounted for 20.6% overall and 33.6% of high-level percentages.
Regarding other demographics, 69.7% are straight, down from 88% in 2015; disabled staff make up 16.2%, up from 11% in 2019. The 25-35 years old age range is most common (about 30% or respondents), and 48% of employees work in hybrid or fully remote roles. The survey concludes that the ‘‘net gain of a more inclusive workforce benefits us all. It lessens the tendency for staff to gravitate toward siloed interactions and increases the likelihood that we will get to know people outside our comfort zone. For the book industry, more diverse representation behind the scenes leads to better books.’’ Check out the full survey.
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