Commitments: Diversity & Inclusion

Bolstering Diversity in School Reading Lists

U.K. (2020)

We teamed up with think tank Runnymede Trust to launch Lit in Colour, a project that aims to diversify school reading lists by developing and providing a culturally diverse curriculum that more accurately represents today’s students and inspires them to read outside of their classes.

An analysis from Penguin Random House U.K. and Runnymede Trust found that 56 of 65 novels and plays on the GCSE English literature specifications are written by white authors. This report reflects recent data from Teach First, which found that pupils could leave school in England without studying a novel or play by a BIPOC author.

Lit in Colour will offer free books, create teaching resources, and invite authors to visit classrooms.  The program will also analyze what’s currently being taught in English lessons and identify gaps to fill.

Access to a diverse and representative range of books, authors and characters is critical for all students, and we hope Lit in Colour will help inspire a lifelong love of reading by offering a wider range of voices, cultures, and perspectives on school book shelves.

 

Launching the 2021 Creative Writing Awards

U.S. (2021)

For the second consecutive year, we will partner with We Need Diverse Books for PRH’s annual Creative Writing Awards Program to widen the applicant pool beyond New York City and invite hundreds of students from across the country to submit their work. Our partnership with WNDB underscores a critical element of the CWA program: to nurture the next generation of literary talent by supporting young writers from a variety of backgrounds. As the publishing industry continues to reckon with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, the CWA program is an opportunity for PRH to support students from underrepresented backgrounds and encourage their involvement in the field. This program is one facet of our continued effort to elevate diverse perspectives and increase representation among our authors and staff.

The 2021 competition launches on December 2, and closes on March 2, 2021.  Five first-place $10,000 prizes will be awarded in the categories of fiction/drama; poetry; personal essay/memoir; and spoken-word poetry, through the Maya Angelou Award. In recognition of the Creative Writing Awards previously being centered in New York City, the competition will award an additional first-place prize to the top entrant from the NYC area.  Runners up will also be honored.

Established in 1993, the Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards have awarded more than $2.8 million dollars to public high school students for their original compositions. To learn more about the program, please click here.

Our Approach to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

As Penguin Random House, we hold a collective belief that a diverse range of voices need to be elevated and heard. Externally, we are committed to using our platform to amplify an even broader range of voices aligning even further with our mission to “create books for everyone.” Internally, we are working to build an inclusive and psychologically safe work environment for all employees.

We are guided by five core pillars that shape our DEI efforts across the business.

Leadership Investment: Effective leadership is at the core of systemic change. We hold leaders accountable for implementing PRH’s DEI vision, setting goals, achieving results, and being role models.

Diversity & Representation: We aim to ensure that PRH attracts, sources, and recruits candidates who will help achieve our mission to “create books for everyone” responsibly and with authenticity.

Professional Development: We are committed to supporting the development of all employees to ensure they are well prepared to advocate for themselves as they progress on their career paths. We aim to integrate DEI principles into talent development and retention efforts.

Psychological Safety & Belonging: We seek to create a more psychologically safe, inclusive environment that allows employees to bring their full selves to work and voice their ideas and opinions openly.

Content & Marketplace: We strive to demonstrate a measurable companywide increase in content we’re acquiring, publishing, and promoting from the widest range of contributors with the ultimate goal of publishing books that reflect the world we live in.

While these pillars have advanced our progress in establishing more inclusive business practices, there is still much more important work to do. Together with our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Councils, Employee Resource Groups, and leadership teams, we will continue our ongoing and evolving plan for action to achieve our aspiration of creating an inclusive corporate environment and publishing community.

Black Lives Matter

U.S. (2020)

At Penguin Random House, we believe in and strive to create an environment of belonging and respect for all. We as individuals and as the collective leadership of this company recognize the urgent need to forge a path toward positive change. Black Lives Matter. Black Stories Matter and Black Voices Matter—and as publishers, we commit to using the powers of our creativity and ingenuity to lift those voices up in the world.

A list of anti-racist books and resources can be found here.

Sparking Imaginations with the Raptors 905

ONTARIO (2020)

Penguin Random House Canada is committed to doing our part to create a fairer society, including by promoting equitable access to meaningful and inspiring reading experiences for marginalized readers. In July 2020, we worked together with First Book Canada and the Raptors 905 basketball team to give one thousand copies of five books by Black authors, about Black characters, to two hundred grade five students in the team’s home region of Peel, Ontario. The kids will read one book a week for five weeks for a total of 905 minutes of reading, coming together at the end of each week to talk about what they’ve read with each other, the book’s author, and community leaders including representatives from Brampton’s Festival of Literary Diversity, with Raptors 905 Head Coach Jama Mahlalela leading the conversation. We’re grateful for the opportunity to help this group of young readers keep connected with each other, engaged with stories that reflect their own identities and experiences, and fired up by their imaginations this summer. To learn more about this program, click here.

Supporting Black-Owned Bookstores

U.S. (2020)

In honor of Juneteenth in 2020, we donated 100% of net proceeds from our website that day to a fund that will support Black-owned bookstores. We are partnering with Bookshop.org, an online retailer, to manage the fund for these bookstores. The process will parallel Bookshop.org’s existing program for sharing profits with independent bookstores. In addition to the Juneteenth donation, we made three additional contributions in June, July, and August, with disbursement to bookstores expected to begin in September.

Our contributions were split equally among all participating bookstores, and can be used to support any activity that promotes books and reading in the local community, such as school programming, author event technology costs, and basic monthly operating costs.

This program supports Black-owned independent bookstores with brick-and-mortar storefronts that are open or have a history of their storefront being open to the public for 20 hours a week or more, in a U.S. location. To find out more about how to participate, please email partnerships@bookshop.org.

Company-Wide Read to Facilitate Discussions and Change

U.S. (2020)

As part of our long-term Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Action plan, we introduced our first-ever company-wide read, How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, and will facilitate discussions across our company on this important topic. Employees are encouraged to share their ideas and perspectives openly with one another, fostering learning, understanding, and belonging.

Confronting Racism and Social Inequity

CANADA (2020)

In response to protests against anti-Black racism following the murder of George Floyd, we looked inward to identify what part we play in the problem and, potentially, in the efforts to solve it. As publishers, we are dedicated to amplifying the voices of Black authors, but we know we need to do more to support the efforts for change they and other members of Black communities in Canada, as well as Indigenous and other marginalized communities, are leading. We created an anti-racism action and accountability plan to work toward a more diverse and truly inclusive company, industry, and society. As part of that plan, we made donations of $20,000 each to the Black Legal Action Centre, the Black Health Alliance, and the Nia Centre for the Arts, three Black-led organizations that work in the service of racial equity in their respective areas for members of Black communities in Toronto and nationwide. Beyond this crucial moment, we’re committed to providing ongoing support to organizations working in the area of anti-racism.