Hachette UK partners with All About Trans 'to become better allies'

Hachette UK is partnering with All About Trans, an organisation helping companies to promote a deeper understanding of trans issues, and is donating £10,000 to LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall.

The initiatives are the latest in Hachette UK’s Changing the Story programme, devoted to diversity and inclusion. They were developed in consultation with its Pride employee network, and come following a letter to Hachette UK’s board from a number of staff, sent earlier this summer. The letter is understood to have asked what the company is doing to support trans issues, and to have expressed disappointment that it had not reacted to author J K Rowling's views affecting the trans community with a show of support for trans people similar to its response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Hachette Children's Group is to publish Rowling's new title, The Ickabog, in November 2020.

All About Trans is a project created by the charity On Road Media, a small organisation that seeks to improve media coverage of communities and issues that are misrepresented. From September, Hachette UK will be working with All About Trans on a series of curated meet-ups, known as "interactions", to connect colleagues with a diverse group of people from within the trans community to "gain insight, build relationships and inspire creative collaboration". It is expected to be a long-term partnership.

Keen to support the LGBTQ+ community, Hachette UK is also making a donation of £10,000 to Stonewall UK, Britain’s leading charity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality, which continues to campaign and lobby government to change laws to ensure everyone is free to be themselves.

Melanie Tansey, group HR director at Hachette UK, commented: "Diversity without inclusion is like being seen without being heard. At Hachette UK, we not only strive to have better representation of people from diverse backgrounds, but we also wholeheartedly believe in every individual’s right to self-expression. We are committed to creating and investing in an inclusive, respectful workplace where everyone can be their authentic selves and feel their voice is heard.

"As part of this, we work with partners to fund charitable work and share lived experiences to raise awareness of the issues affecting different protected groups, as well as celebrating the contributions they make to our industry.

"We believe trans and non-binary rights are human rights and diverse gender identities and expressions are accepted, visible and celebrated within our company. Our work with All About Trans will promote a deeper understanding of the issues faced by trans and non-binary people within the publishing community, and help us to become better allies to them. Our donation to Stonewall UK will help the charity’s work across many different projects, including supporting and empowering trans communities across Britain.

"We look forward to working closely with our Pride employee network to support All About Trans and Stonewall UK, as part of our ongoing commitment to ‘change the story’."