Reach has joined the 30% Club and said it is the first UK news publisher to explicitly commit to at least 30% women on its board and senior management team by 2023.
The publisher of the Daily Mirror and OK! has also committed to greater representation for people of colour.
The company’s Chairman Nicholas Prettejohn and Chief Executive Jim Mullen have signed the pledge, committing to take action on increasing diversity at the most senior levels of the company.
Mullen said: “We don’t take targets lightly at Reach, but we’re ready to lead the charge and challenge ourselves to achieve more diversity at the highest level of the organisation.
“For us, this isn’t just about strengthening our leadership, but also unlocking even more talent throughout the business, making this a place where leaders can grow and thrive.”
Ten “high-performing women” will also be put forward by Reach this autumn for external mentoring from other member organisations, which include Unilever and HSBC.
In turn, Reach will provide 10 senior leaders (women or men) to the programme, to act as mentors to women from other member organisations.
The initiative, facilitated by the 30% Club, is the largest cross-company scheme in the world, Reach added.
30% Club Global Chair and Executive Vice Chair at Mastercard Ann Cairns added: “The media is so important in reflecting the make-up of society and inspiring progress – including within its own workforce and leadership and has been a big source of support for the 30% Club since we launched in 2010.
“While there has been good progress on gender diversity on boards in recent years, there is so much more to be done. There are a good number of female newspaper editors in the UK, including the Mirror’s Alison Phillips, yet there are still just eight female CEOs in the FTSE 100. Diversity in governance is a business imperative for any company, and I sincerely hope other major publishers will commit to at least 30% gender diversity on their boards and senior management teams in the not too distant future.”
