Editor’s Note
For this issue’s salary survey (starting p. 18), we a sked t he publishing i ndustry whether their companies offer internship programs. Approximately 71 per cent of respondents confirmed that their companies do, with 68.2 per cent of those being paid positions. This was the first time we asked in a survey about internships, so previous years’ numbers are unavailable for comparison, but I have to imagine that government crackdowns over unpaid labour – particularly in Ontario, where the majority of publishing companies reside – have resulted in favourable changes in terms of compensation and employee protection.
I took our survey result as a positive shift until I attended a Women in Publishing panel at BookNet Canada’s Tech Forum conference moderated by Penguin Random House Canada president and publisher Kristin Cochrane. One topic discussed was the need for better mentorship in the industry, in particular for women of colour. According to our survey, the industry is made up of 84 per cent women, but only 13 per cent of overall respondents identify as non-white – a point that became painfully clear just by looking around the Tech Forum conference room.