Shelley Bishton told the TTG Fairer Travel Diversity Forum how she had taken on the challenging role of head of diversity, equity and inclusion at News UK, whose publications include The Sun.

She said her work had begun by highlighting her company’s lack of activity around Black History Month. This led to a diversity board being set up and data gathered about News UK that influenced recruitment, retention and more inclusive products. 

Bishton admitted there had been scepticism about the ‘woke’ approach but said: “I see it as part of growth strategy.”

A new recruitment strategy saw outreach work with schools and universities and online work experience, with 65 apprentices recruited. Assessment centres were used to recruit instead of interviews.

“It was ‘can you do the job?’, rather than going through an interview process. We’re not doing positive discrimination; we’re taking active steps to see if we can change the demographic – turns out we can.”

The strategy meant two-thirds of applications were from women, up from 33%, while those from ethnic minorities soared from 7% to 60%.

Existing staff attended unconscious bias workshops, the media’s first guide to inclusive terminology was produced and issues like the menopause were tackled. “It was simple things like desk fans and paid HRT rather than saying ‘don’t talk about it’,” she explained.

She added: “We are starting to see the change in our content,” adding The Sun was the only newspaper to feature Black History Month on its front page. 

Bishton advised travel brands to develop bespoke programmes and to use data to underpin efforts. She said the experience at News UK had been overwhelmingly positive.

“It’s attracting new talent; it’s attracting new business opportunities and it is intertwined with the future of the business.”