As part of its ongoing efforts to increase the representation of Indigenous and racialized people working in the Canadian publishing industry, the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP), in partnership with the Canadian Publishers’ Council (CPC), has released the results of its 2022 Canadian Book Publishing Diversity Baseline Survey.
The 2022 version of the survey offers an update to data first gathered in 2018, which was conducted by ACP with the goals of better understanding the demographic makeup of the Canadian publishing industry and identifying challenges and opportunities to increase diversity across the sector. The 2022 survey also included new questions to collect information around compensation packages and work arrangements.
Despite the disruption stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and related challenges, the industry has seen a slight uptick in diversity across various metrics since 2018. Highlights from the report include:
- The industry as a whole remains majority white, but the balance has shifted since 2018, from 82% white to 75%.
- Respondents identifying as gender-diverse, including transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming, increased from 5% in 2018 to 10% in 2022.
- 11% fewer respondents overall identified as heterosexual, down from 72% in 2018 to 61% in 2022.
- The percentage of respondents who said their firm currently has Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies and initiatives rose from 49% in 2018 to 63% in 2022, whereas the percentage of heads of firm with plans to implement new DEI policies and initiatives rose from 35% in 2018 to 52% in 2022.
Even as diversity within workplaces increases, the industry as a whole remains largely homogenous. And, crucially, while publishing staff may be more diverse in 2022 overall, heads of firm and those in senior management positions were the least diverse group among the survey’s 439 respondents.
The results of the survey will be presented at a TechForum webinar hosted by BookNet Canada on Thursday, February 23, 2023.
ACP acknowledges the support of the Access Copyright Foundation for this project.