Published
Thu, May 20, 2021, 13:47
- Here's what we've done so far this year, from January 1st through May 3rd.
Last spring we released a statement about how RA's editorial team would advance racial equity in its output. We promised to change how we work as a publication, and to focus on empowering Black artists, writers and creators, which included commitments to BIPOC and non-male representation in our coverage, as well as offering more opportunities for BIPOC and non-male writers. Almost a year later, that process is well underway.
In December, we provided an update of how we were accomplishing and sticking to those targets through the second half of 2020, as well as a new round of targets to accomplish in the first half of 2021. Those newer commitments were:
• 50 percent of our films will support Black artists and collectives. 50 percent will support women and non-binary artists and collectives.
• 50 percent of all reviews will focus on music from BIPOC artists.
• 30 percent of our features will focus on BIPOC people, 30 percent on women, trans and non-binary people.
• Half of all RA Podcasts and RA Exchanges will focus on women and non-binary people. One third will focus on BIPOC people.
• 25 percent of our features will be written by journalists of colour. 35 percent will be written by women & non-binary journalists.
• We will publish a feature series dedicated to telling the stories of underrepresented histories in the electronic music scene. Part of this project is due to launch in early 2021.
• We will keep working toward an ever more diverse pool of writers. In addition to seeking out experienced journalists we want to work with for the first time, we will set aside time and resources to help beginner writers hone their craft.
• Publish RA's editorial style guide.
Here's what we've done this year so far, from January 1st through May 3rd.
• 69 percent of our films focused on Black artists or collectives, while 46 percent of our films focused on women/non-binary artists and collectives
• 56 percent of all reviews focused on music from BIPOC artists
• 76 percent of our features focused on BIPOC artists and collectives, while 39 percent focused on women or non-binary artists and collectives
• 64 percent of our RA Podcasts and RA Exchanges focused on BIPOC artists, while 42 percent focused on women and non-binary artists
• 65 percent of our features were written by journalists of colour, while 40 percent were written by women or nonbinary writers
• We launched the four-part Re-record series highlighting 120 important artists in electronic music, in addition to starting the monthly Black Minds Matter RA Exchange podcast series.
• We continue to onboard and work with new writers, with much of our output in 2021 coming from young freelancers and a budget allocated to work with them.
We have extended these targets through to the end of 2021, along with a new commitment to gender representation in the reviews section, with at least 30 percent of all reviews dedicated to women, non-binary and trans artists or collectives.
As part of our stated commitment to make an ongoing financial commitment to organisations benefiting Black and other minority communities, in 2021 RA has committed at least £50,000 for community partnerships. You can find all updates here. This page will be updated as and when new projects are announced. If you would like to discuss a project, please email [email protected] for further details.
Our editorial and community pledges will be updated again in December, when we will track our progress against the targets originally set in December 2020, and create new goals to continue our work in this area. We will be publishing bi-annual diversity updates in May and December every year going forwards.
An update on our company diversity and inclusion progress, including our newly formed Diversity, Inclusion and Awareness Committee, can be found here.