Newspaper publishing firm News UK has appointed Shelley Bishton (pictured) as head of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Bishton will focus on furthering the DEI strategy across News UK, which includes The Sun, The Times, The Sunday Times, TalkTV, talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK and Times Radio. She will report into Sarah Gallo, News UK’s executive vice president, chief people officer.
Bishton joined News UK in 2018 as head of brand partnerships across The Times and The Sunday Times. In October 2019, she helped to establish News UK’s first network for black, Asian and ethnic minority employees, informing News UK’s first diversity and inclusion strategy.
She was then appointed as head of creative diversity in October 2020, where she worked as an advocate for diversity across all titles and radio stations, as well as extending networks in the wider community.
The business’ DEI team was formed to create a pathway to a 50/50 gender split across the workforce, with a 20% target of representation of ethnic minorities. It planned to do this by focusing on attracting, developing and retaining young talent from a broader pool, driving inclusivity, and gender and ethnic diversity in its wider leadership and workforce.
Bishton said: “We have made meaningful progress with the diversity and inclusion strategy at News UK across the past two years, and we have created a solid infrastructure to engineer real progress and change. We now want to continue evolving and looking harder at how we can drive equity across all people and intersections in our business.”
Gallo added: “I am so pleased and excited to have Shelley in this new role. Shelley has worked in the media for more than 15 years, and has the right combination of experience, skills, passion and business acumen to lead our ambitious DEI strategy at News UK. I am looking forward to seeing her continue to innovate and create industry leading initiatives for our people, and the media as a whole.”