Introduction

Hachette UK has recently released its updated reports on the ethnic and gender pay gaps, revealing significant progress in the representation of women in leadership positions.

Commitment to Transparency

The reports are part of Hachette UK’s ongoing initiative, termed ‘Changing the Story’, which emphasizes the importance of inclusion and diversity in the workplace, publishing, and partnerships. The company is dedicated to transparency surrounding its workforce demographics.

Scope of Reporting

Hachette UK’s analysis encompasses three primary entities:

• Hachette UK Ltd: Staff within publishing roles.
• Hachette Distribution: Employees involved in distribution services.
• The Whole Group: This includes individuals from both Hachette UK Ltd and Hachette Distribution.

Improvements in Gender Pay Gap

Kim Kidd, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager at Hachette UK, commented on progress in narrowing the gender pay gap, citing reductions in both the mean and median figures across the entire group.

“At Hachette UK Ltd, while the mean gender pay gap reduced, the median increased slightly. However, we’ve seen increased representation of women in senior roles, particularly in the upper middle quartile, and our mean bonus pay gap has improved in favour of women across both the whole group and our publishing division,” Kidd stated.

Ethnicity Pay Gap Report

The reports also shed light on ethnic diversity within the workforce. Although the overall ethnicity pay gap has expanded this year, there has been noteworthy improvement in the bonus pay gaps for ethnic minority groups.

“Progress isn’t always linear, and we understand that fluctuations are part of the journey as we work towards our goals. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is essential to our mission at Hachette UK,” Kidd said.

Year-on-Year Progress

This marks the sixth year Hachette UK has voluntarily published its ethnicity pay gap data. The latest findings indicate an increase in the representation of Black, Asian, Mixed Heritage, and ethnically diverse employees across three of the four pay quartiles. Statistics reveal the following improvements:

• The mean ethnicity bonus pay gap has improved from 63.6% to 47.1%.
• The median gap has decreased significantly from 19.4% to 13.1% within Hachette UK.

Hiring Trends and Future Goals

Approximately 19.2% of the latest hires identify as Black, Asian, Mixed Heritage, and ethnically diverse. This group comprises:

• 19.5% in the upper middle quartile
• 4.9% in the top quartile

For future representation, Hachette UK aims to increase the percentage of diverse employees to 18.3% by 2026, with the current figure at 15.2%, up from 14.7% in the previous year.