The New York Times says it plans to transform its workplace culture as sweepingly as it shifted to becoming a digital-first operation. The promise follows an eight-month review of workplace issues, especially those affecting Black and Latino employees, reports CNN. The newspaper shared a report Wednesday from Amber Guild, Carolyn Ryan, and Anand Venkatesan, the three execs who carried out the review. They found that while the organization's staff has become more diverse in recent years, it has a long way to go before it becomes truly equitable and inclusive. The Times "is a difficult environment for many of our colleagues, from a wide range of backgrounds," they wrote. "But it is particularly true for people of color, many of whom described unsettling and sometimes painful day-to-day workplace experiences."
"We found that our Black and Latino colleagues face the largest and most pervasive challenges," they wrote, noting that "Black and brown colleagues find themselves too often in a contrarian position, swimming up against the tide in editorial decisions and becoming exhausted, eventually leaving." They said that during one of many in-depth interviews, a colleague told them: "Because we’re making a difference in society and have a mission, we feel like we’re already equitable and inclusive. Because we care, we don’t have to work as hard. But that’s wrong." The execs set out a detailed plan for making the Times' culture and coverage more inclusive, including a goal of increasing the percentage of Black and Latino colleagues in leadership to 50% by 2025.
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