The APA Diversity and Inclusion Working Group has developed a Diversity and Inclusion Plan for Australian publishing.

D&I plan banner – a multicoloured image of silhouetted heads above the Australian Publishers Association logo and words Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2024-25

The plan comprises of:

An Action Plan for the Australian Publishers Association, with four areas of focus, to support and track progress:
  1. The APA will continue the work of its Diversity and Inclusion Working Group and its wider reference group 
  2. The APA will collect, assess and share industry data
  3. The APA will provide educational resources about diversity and inclusion to members and regular updates on best practice initiatives from member organisations
  4. The APA will continue to develop initiatives to support change in the industry
Eight Publisher Recommendations to improve diversity and inclusion in the Australian publishing industry:
  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 work guidelines and practices 
  8. Work towards pay equity, including salary transparency

Action Plan and recommendations

Use the tabs below to read full details of the Action Plan and recommendations to publishers, and discover how to contribute to this work or share best practice:

1. The APA will continue the work of its Diversity and Inclusion Working Group and its wider reference group 

The Working Group’s current focus is on the five segments that emerged from the APA’s 2022 Australian Publishing Industry Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion, and the impact of intersectionality in these areas: 

  • the cultural diversity of the workforce, including First Nations people
  • gender and sexuality
  • non-traditional pathways into the industry 
  • disability and neurodiversity
  • inclusive publishing formats and accessible content

 

2. The APA will collect, assess and share industry data

  • Implement a diversity measure for new appointments in the industry.
  • Develop protocols for and support implementation of better metadata, particularly for First Nations contributors and content.
  • Support other relevant initiatives to collect industry data and insights, such as the 2019-20 APA Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship project, 'It’s hard to be what you can’t see: Diversity Within Australian Publishing' by Radhiah Chowdhury.
Continue research into the publishing workforce through projects such as the Australian Publishing Industry Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion.

 

3. The APA will provide educational resources about diversity and inclusion to members and regular updates on best practice initiatives from member organisations

Resources include:

  • Contact information for networks of organisations, community groups and educational centres that publishers could consider when placing job advertisements to reach a broader pool of candidates.
  • A list of D&I training programs, including cultural awareness and cultural competency training.

 

4. The APA will continue to develop initiatives to support change in the industry

Current initiatives focus on the diversity of the workforce including First Nations representation, diversity of culture, gender and sexuality, disability and neurodiversity. 

  • Workforce initiatives in place for 2024-25 include:
    • Open Book, a paid internship program supported by the APA, Creative Australia, and participating publishers.
    • Scholarships for First Nations editors within the Residential Editorial Program.
    • The development of resources to support internship and mentoring programs.
    • Ensuring APA job ads reach a wider pool of potential applicants.

 

No content found

No content found

Join or contribute

For further information on our work in this space, if you'd like to join our Diversity and Inclusion Working Group or Reference Group, or if your organisation is working on initiatives to improve diversity and inclusion that we can share with the industry, please contact industry development manager Andrea Hanke.