Diversity and inclusion at the FT
Our commitment
The benefits of an inclusive workplace extend far and wide across an organisation, from happier and more productive teams to stronger business performance and products. We use a number of measures to continue building a culture of equality and opportunity at the FT.
Visit this page for more information about our benefits.
Career development
We offer confidential career coaching, mentoring and a range of training courses, including a development programme designed for women.
Flexible working
We offer flexible working arrangements, including flexi leave, parenting leave and paid volunteer leave. We also offer 20 weeks maternity leave and six weeks paternity leave paid in full to all eligible global employees.
Returning to work
We provide structured coaching support before, during and after family leave so our people can return to work with confidence.
Communities
We support employee-led networks to connect and empower individuals across the organisation.
Recruitment and selection
We require 50/50 male/female shortlists for all roles to ensure inclusive recruitment practices.
Embedding best practice
We provide training for our leaders and senior managers to help embed good practices around equality, diversity and inclusion.
Accessibility
We aim to provide an accessible website for all our employees and customers. Our website is accredited by the Digital Accessibility Centre.
Volunteering opportunities
We offer a range of volunteering opportunities for employees, including a Volunteering Matters reading programme for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Diversity in the industry
The FT is an official partner of the Journalism Diversity Fund, and works with Creative Access, the Social Mobiity Foundation and The Student View.
Gender diversity at the FT
A more diverse organisation will make better decisions and better reflect the needs and interests of our audience. A central part of our vision for more gender diversity is a working environment that supports women’s full involvement at all levels, and that better recognises, promotes and develops female talent.
Our work to support the progression of women into senior roles is making a difference and our gender pay gap is decreasing. There are more women in senior roles across the newsroom and business than ever before, and women make up 45 percent of our global senior management group, up 11 percent since 2016.
We have set a goal of gender parity across FT leadership groups by 2022, and will be working to achieve this sooner if possible. Each member of the FT management board also has an objective and departmental plan relating to diversity and inclusion.
Gender is just one important focus of our overall strategy to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace and we are working with our vibrant employee networks to drive a range of diversity initiatives across the FT.
We will continue to publish demographic data to encourage transparency and accountability for ourselves and our peers in the publishing industry, and we plan to include other demographics as more data becomes available.
Workforce gender split
Key:
- Male
- Female
Global
We have an even gender split among our global workforce.
FT Board
Our representation of women at board level is higher than the UK government voluntary target of 33% by 2020.
Leadership
Our leadership must be representative of the business environment in which we work. We are committed to reaching gender parity in the FT senior leadership team by 2022.
People Managers
We have a strong pipeline of female talent in place, including people managers.
Age diversity
*Charts above reflect Q4 2018 employee data