Diversity and inclusion

Our ambition is for our team, our publishing and our authors to be fully reflective of the society we live in. We actively seek different voices, perspectives and ideas. A commitment which sits at the heart of our diversity and inclusion programme, Changing the Story; one of the four pillars of our business strategy.

Changing the Story

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Changing the Story started in 2016 and has since evolved into the driving force behind everything we do, as we remain committed to not only achieving, but surpassing our original goals. We recognise that we’re at the relative start of our journey, but we’re committed to Changing the Story – which consists of our strategic policies and programmes, cultural initiatives and progressive partnerships – and to delivering real and lasting change, both across our business and the wider industry. Follow the link below to read our People and Publishing Transparency Report for more details on the make-up of our business and our goals and commitments to change.
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As part of our commitment to furthering the geographical and socio-economic make-up of the publishing industry, we recently partnered with Northumbria University and New Writing North - an organisation aimed at empowering creative writing and reading in the North of England - to design a new one-year MA in Publishing. As part of this commitment, we’re providing a £2,000 scholarship to one highly gifted student from an under-represented background each year. While students from across the programme can take part in a work placement scheme, either with us or with New Writing North, so that they can apply their knowledge to the real world. Follow the link below to find out more.
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Our employee networks

Our 10 employee networks are people-led, voluntary and open to everyone who works here. Together, their mission is to foster communities of inclusion and belonging through the creation of safe spaces for our people to share their realities, raise awareness and explore topics that matter to them.

Our networks work closely with our leadership and HR team, and their work is at the heart of our diversity and inclusion programme, Changing the Story. We welcome and encourage everyone who works here – as champions and allies – to join, participate and get involved with the networks to help create a vibrant and supportive culture for everyone.

AgeWise Network

The AgeWise Network celebrates our intergenerational business and works to ensure that the over-50s have proper representation in training, benefits, development, recruitment and promotion.

All Together Network

The All Together Network promotes the recruitment, retention and development of people from low socio-economic and regional backgrounds.

Accessibility Network

The Accessibility Network works to improve the accessibility of publishing for anyone who has a disability, neurodiversity or health condition.

Gender Balance Network

The Gender Balance Network aims to eliminate the gender pay gap by focusing on equal recruitment and progression for all genders, at every level of the business.

Pride Network

The Pride Network supports our LGBTQIA+ colleagues by helping to ensure that our publishing represents and reaches LGBTQIA+ people of all backgrounds.

THRIVE Network

The THRIVE Network works to build cultural awareness, bring people together, and champion our Black, Asian, Mixed Heritage and Minority Ethnic colleagues and writers.

Wellbeing Network

The Wellbeing Network promotes a healthier, more supportive working environment, focusing on physical and mental health, financial wellbeing and work-life balance.

Multi-Faith Network

The Multi-Faith Network provides support and representation for employees of any religion, as well as offering a place to socialise and connect.

Jewish Employee Network

The Jewish Employee Network offers a chance to meet Jewish colleagues, socialise and raise any issues for Jewish people in the workplace; creating a space where they can feel represented, celebrated and, of course, full of delicious food!

Christian Employee Network

The Christian Employee Network exists to support each other as Christians in publishing and provide an opportunity for anyone interested in Christianity to find out more. Everyone is welcome!

Muslim Employee Network

The Muslim Employee Network provides support and representation for Muslims of all backgrounds across the business. It is open to anyone, regardless of faith, and offers opportunities to socialise, learn and connect throughout the year.

Hachette Sustainability Network

The Sustainability Network aims to promote sustainable work practices, communicate our environmental goals and targets and encourage our people to make more sustainable personal choices.

Improving representation

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We have been voluntarily publishing our ethnicity pay gap since 2019, a move which saw us Shortlisted and Highly Commended that same year in the Inclusive Workplace category at the Global Equality & Diversity (GED) Awards. At the time, we pledged a representation target of 15 per cent of the total group workforce for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic talent within five years. And in that time, we’ve made significant progress. So much so that in 2021 we received the Inclusivity in Publishing Award from the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards. Check out our Ethnicity Pay Gap Reports to find out more.
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Since our first Gender Pay Gap Report, our board composition has changed dramatically, from one-third women to two-thirds women and, as of April 2022, the split stands at 10 women to 6 men. In 2017, we also pledged that our population of women (66 per cent at the time) across the company would be reflected in the top pay quartile by 2020. This is a target that we are now very close to achieving at 64 per cent, and this progress – along with other initiatives – has meant that we’ve been included in The Times’ Top 50 Employers for Women listing for the last three years (2020, 2021 and 2022). Check out our Gender Pay Gap Reports to find out more.
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Shared parental leave

In 2019, we equalised our shared parental leave so that both parents are entitled to 20 weeks of leave, which is fully paid at any point in the 37-week eligibility period. Our Gender Balance Network even won an Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (ENEI) Award in 2020 as a result.

Trans inclusion policy

We value the positive impact the trans and non-binary community have towards enriching our culture and content and we are committed to creating an inclusive working environment where all our people feel safe, valued and supported. We want you to feel fully accepted and comfortable in a workplace where you feel free to express yourself.

Menopause policy

We strive to always promote a culture of openness and inclusion within our workplace, and our inclusive menopause policy is just one small part of that. We believe in educating our people and making sure that everyone - whether you’re a cis woman, a trans man, intersex or non-binary - has the support they need to thrive within our teams.

Diversity in recruitment

We want our team to be fully reflective of the world around us. So, we’ve ensured that all our internships are paid above the London Living Wage. We also have a minimum salary for all roles. And we offer interest-free loans for rental deposits.

Diverse future leaders

In addition to our main mentoring scheme, we offer colleagues from backgrounds that are under-represented in our industry the chance to be mentored by a member of our board. Since 2017, we have matched 59 employees with board-level mentors.

The Future Bookshelf

In 2022, we relaunched The Future Bookshelf – our online creative writing community and open submissions platform for writers from under-represented communities. It now houses all our creative writing programmes focused on diversity and inclusion.

Mo Siewcharran Prize

In 2019, we launched the Mo Siewcharran Prize - an annual award given to unpublished fiction writers from Black, Asian, Mixed Heritage and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. The winner receives £2,500, plus editorial feedback and a follow-up one-hour editorial session with an editor.

National Literacy Trust

We have a three-year partnership with the National Literacy Trust through which we work with the team to co-create programmes to help children, young people and adults in disadvantaged communities develop life-changing literacy skills.

Dyslexia editorial guidelines

We recognise the importance of supporting dyslexic and neurodiverse people and so, in partnership with the British Dyslexia Association, we created the first set of guidelines in the industry for producing dyslexia-friendly texts. And we became the first publisher to win a BDA Smart Award!

Working with Freelancers

Hachette UK is always looking to broaden its database of freelancers. We have created a training programme for those looking to move into the publishing industry via the freelancing route and opened a database for existing UK-based freelancers to register their interest to work on our projects.

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