Penguin Random House continues to make slow but steady progress in diversifying its workforce. According to the publisher’s fifth annual demographics report, 68.9% of the company’s entire workforce of non-warehouse and warehouse employees were white in 2024, down from 70.1% in 2023. White people comprised 66% of PRH warehouse employees.
Based on the 2020 U.S. Census, 60% of the American population is white. While PRH’s workforce is less diverse than the U.S. population, it is more diverse that the overall publishing workforce. According to the latest Lee & Low Diversity Baseline survey, white employees comprised 72.5% of the book business in 2023, while PW’s forthcoming salary and jobs survey will indicate that white people made up roughly 80% of the publishing workforce last year, down from 83% in 2022. (PW‘s model is limited strictly to book publishers, whereas Lee & Low’s model includes other book businesses, including literary agencies.)
According to PRH’s detailed report, one of the few issued by publishers, the percentage of new hires of white employees was 64.1% in 2024—coming in below the current company average, but marking the highest percentage since 2019, when 67.6% of new employees were white. The report also shows that PRH made a total of 270 new hires this year, its lowest since 2020.
The percentage of new hires of Asian and Hispanic employees fell slightly, but increased to 7% for new Black employees, up from 5.8% in 2023. Last year, PRH observed that the number of new Black employees between 2021 and 2023 had fallen noticeably since 2020, and that it was initiating efforts to bring in new Black staff.
Drilling down into its different departments, BIPOC representation in PRH’s editorial operations was nearly flat with 2023, dipping slightly to 36.4%, from 36.8%. Critics often charge that one problem with publishers’ DEI efforts is that, while they may sign more BIPOC authors, those writers suffer from a lack of effective marketing. PRH’s new demographic report found that BIPOC representation in marketing and publicity rose to 31.9% in 2024, up from 30.3% last year. “Moving forward,” the report states, “we will continue to focus attentions and resources on these strategic areas of our business.”
In releasing its new demographic data, PRH reiterated that it is taking the long view in its ongoing efforts to better diversify its workforce. “This is a marathon, not a sprint,” the company said. “Despite the ups and downs this journey toward greater representation brings, we remain committed to providing transparency and accountability along the way.”