Discrimination in Publishing: With so Many Unique Voices, Why Are so Few Heard?

 

Despite a rise in social-political conflict in the past decade, the much needed diversity in the publishing industry has seen little improvement. For years, the majority of the publishing industry has been run by straight, white, cis-identifying persons. 

     In 2015, Lee and Low Books conducted their first Diversity Baseline Survey to investigate diversity in the employment of publishing workers. The results of the study were not surprising, pulling up the same demographic as previously mentioned. It was found that employees were 79% white, 88% straight, 99% cis-gendered, and 92% non-disabled. These statistics left only minuscule percentages to minority groups such as the black and LGBTQIA+ communities. 

     Without workers who represent these communities, discrimination within the publishing market can occur. This has been primarily seen against black authors, with many being unable to receive offers from big publishers, and when they do, being paid less than non-black authors. In 2015, Lee and Low reported the publishing industry as hiring black workers to make up only 4% off its staff. 

     In 2020, following the Black Lives Matter protests, society shifted its attention to systematic racism in not only the government, but major industries as well. One of these industries was the publishing industry, which showed a heavy amount of discrimination towards minority groups. 

The #PublishingPaidMe movement online shone a light on the pay inequalities that black authors were facing at the time. 

     Since 2020, publishing companies have made pledges to increase their employment and market diversity. Many publishing companies made a vow to increase their output of contracts with authors of color, but little progress has been seen. Recently, Lee and Low conducted another Baseline Survey, revealing that no racial group’s presence in the industry has been raised by any more than 6%, with some groups even dropping in percentage. For example, the Asian/Pacific Islander demographic dropped by over 4% between 2015 and 2023. Similarly, other groups have seen minor changes, with certain sectors of the LGBTQIA+ community seeing a rise in employment, and others facing decline.

     Many publishers will deny a contract to a minority author based on what they claim to be the taste of the public. They fear that the average reader would not want to read stories by minority authors, so they do not take the chance on those authors. By using the public opinion as a scapegoat, the industry executives maintain the same demographic because they know it will bring them a profit. 

     The unwillingness to take a risk on minority authors poses an even larger threat to the future of the industry. Editors used to select works to be published based on what could impact the culture. Now, it has turned into a game of exclusively profit-based decision making. Complying with the public’s narrow-minded desires, the industry acts as a gatekeeper; pushing out the minorities to keep uniformity, not equality, within.