New Report
Condé Nast, the publisher of titles including Vogue, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, has just released its second diversity and inclusion report. Here’s how it stacks up with the previous year.
In 2021, 64 percent of staffers based in the U.S. identified as white (versus 68 percent in 2020), 11 percent as Asian (versus 10 percent in 2020), 9 percent as Black (versus 7.5 percent in 2020), 7 percent as Latinx (versus 5.5 percent in 2020), 4 percent as multiracial (versus 4 percent in 2020) and 4 percent undeclared.
Less that 1 percent identified as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and it was the same figure for those identifying as Native American or Alaska Native — the same as in 2020.
Overall, the company said 32 percent of staffers across its U.S. workforce identified as people of color, while 41 percent of all new hires identified as people of color. When it came to new hires in 2020, 52 percent identified as white, 13 percent as Black, 11 percent as Asian, 8 percent as Latinx and 5 percent as multiracial.
In the report, the company stressed that as committed in 2020, it is working to ensure that 50 percent of candidates on hiring slates are from these essential backgrounds every year.
In a note accompanying the report, chief diversity and inclusion officer Yashica Olden said: “While we are pleased with the strides we’re making, there is still so much to be done. Creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture is an ongoing collective effort. We know that impactful, sustainable change takes long-term commitment, strategic action and constant self-evaluation. I am optimistic that this work will continue to champion all voices.”
Chief executive officer Roger Lynch added: “An area of focus for us is on the next levels of senior leadership where we are committed to growing our diversity after seeing our numbers remain flat year-overyear.”
He revealed that among the executive leadership team, 30 percent identified as people of color. In 2020, among senior leadership, diversity was at its lowest, with 77 percent identifying as white, 10 percent as Asian, 5.5 percent as Black and 3 percent as Latinx.
Condé was put under the spotlight for its record on diversity and inclusion amid national protests in 2020 over the police murder of George Floyd and other unarmed Black people and, more broadly, centuries of systemic racism in the U.S.
In June of that year, Bon Appétit editor in chief Adam Rapoport resigned after the emergence of a photograph of him in brown face, plus allegations of a discriminatory workplace environment for people of color. At Vogue, in a memo to staffers, editor in chief and global chief content officer for Condé Nast Anna Wintour admitted that “Vogue has not found enough ways to elevate and give space to Black editors, writers, photographers, designers and other creators.”
In a recently published biography of Wintour, author and journalist Amy Odell wrote: “When new photographers wanted to work with diverse models, Anna made comments like ‘Don’t we have enough gays’ — or ‘enough men’ or ‘enough lesbians’ or ‘enough Black people’ — in this issue?’ The message seemed to be — not that Anna ever explained these comments — that diversity was fine up to a point.” Dates for when these comments were made were not published in the book.