Inspired Search today publishes a white paper which examines the topic of women in leadership within UK publishing. Looking away from what women, or men, should be doing differently, this will give a perspective on the traditional systemic barriers to gender equity in leadership and what we, as publishing employers, can be (and many are) doing in order to cultivate cultures which naturally break down these barriers and rebuild, in their place, a more inclusive culture. It looks beyond the numbers and into the culture of inclusivity that will allow anyone of any gender to not only access but thrive in leadership roles if that is their ambition. 

There are of course a wide range of diversity issues alive in the publishing industry including gender, race, socio-economic background and sexuality and we know that the intersectionality of these can compound one’s experience. However, the focus of this paper is women’s overall experience in regard to leadership roles within publishing and largely about women in relation to men. 

We know that the UK publishing industry enjoys the presence of some fantastic male and female leaders in both senior leadership teams (SLT) and executive positions. Indeed, the recent 2022 data released from the Publishers Association (PA) UK Workforce: Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Survey shows us that the proportion of executive leadership and senior management positions being held by females is now 56% and 60% respectively^[1]. This is an increase on 2021 data which is, in turn, an improvement from the earliest of these Surveys. Dan Conway, CEO of the PA, shared with us that in 2018, the proportion of executive leadership and senior management positions being held by females was just 48% and 56% respectively. However, this does not necessarily reflect the gender balance in the publishing workforce as a whole, which is around 66% female. 

This paper is here to reflect on some of the factors that have contributed to the ‘talent leak’ to date, and also what seems to be contributing to its improvement. It also pushes beyond access to leadership for women and into the inclusive cultures that will enable them to thrive with a sense of belonging. 

Abigail Barclay, Search Director of Inspired Search and Selection Limited said “The journey for women in leadership is not over and we are inspired by what the future could hold. Businesses here have an excellent opportunity to empower their future leaders, of all demographics, by engendering an inclusive culture: in every policy, in every appraisal and every conversation and through focusing on what, not who, makes a good leader.”

If you would like to request a free copy of the paper, please contact Search Director Abigail Barclay: a.barclay@inspiredselection.com

^[1] Publishers Association, ‘The UK Publishing Workforce: Diversity, inclusion and belonging in 2022’, (19 July 2022). Available at: < www.publishers.org.uk/publications/the-uk-publishing-workforce-diversity-inclusion-and-belonging-in-2022/&gt;

ENDS