APA releases diversity and inclusion plan

The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has released a diversity and inclusion plan ‘to guide and support industry progress over the next two years’.

Listed on the organisation’s website, the plan for 2024–25 includes eight recommendations for member publishers to ‘improve diversity and inclusion in the Australian publishing industry’, as well as ‘an action plan for the APA to support and track progress’.

The eight publisher recommendations are:

1. Endorse a publicly available diversity and inclusion policy stating the organisation’s commitments
2. Participate in the APA’s collection of data relating to diversity and inclusion
3. Publish diverse and accessible books and content
4. Create opportunities to hire from underrepresented groups
5. Provide appropriate support for career progression and retention
6. Provide access to appropriate professional development for all staff
7. Implement appropriate psychosocial work guidelines and practices
8. Work towards pay equity, including salary transparency.

Meanwhile, the APA’s action plan includes four areas of focus. It plans to:

1. Continue the work of its diversity and inclusion working group and its wider reference group
2. Collect, assess and share industry data
3. Provide educational resources about diversity and inclusion to members and regular updates on best practice initiatives from member organisations
4. Continue to develop initiatives to support change in the industry.

APA diversity and inclusion working group chair Astrid Browne, of Hardie Grant, said of the plan: ‘We are conscious that we can only effect meaningful change in the industry with the willing participation of all publishers. Hence, our guidelines provide recommendations on actions they can take that will make a difference, as well as a plan for the APA to support their efforts.’

The APA created a diversity and inclusion working group following its 2022 declaration of a ‘commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive book industry’. A ‘baseline’ workforce survey of the Australian publishing industry, conducted by researchers at the University of Melbourne and released in the same year, showed that ‘the industry is largely white’, with the vast majority holding tertiary qualifications and residing in Sydney or Melbourne, among other results.

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