The Canadian Association of Journalists publishes 2025 Diversity Survey results
Thursday, January 22, 2026
TORONTO, Dec. 10, 2025 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) is pleased to release the findings of its fifth annual national Canadian Newsroom Diversity Survey today.
This year's voluntary survey collected data about 5,662 journalists from 325 newsrooms across radio, television, digital and print media in Canada. In total, the CAJ sent invitations to 900 newsrooms to complete the survey.
"The Canadian Newsroom Diversity Survey is a critical source of data that over the past five years has become woven into the fabric of how our industry talks about diversity in journalism," said Brent Jolly, CAJ president. "But the survey project also underscores an important fact: what gets measured gets changed."
As in previous years, the CAJ worked with data and analytics experts to develop an interactive website to visualize the results.
Some key findings from the 2025 survey include:
-- White people are overrepresented in supervisor and leadership roles.
However, for full-time journalists, excluding supervisors, most racial
percentages are close to their census data, except for white people and
mixed-race people, who are overrepresented, and Asian full-time
journalists, who are underrepresented.
-- Just over 50 per cent of all journalists identify as women, compared to
49 per cent who identify as men and 0.9 per cent who identify as
non-binary, marking an increase in women and non-binary journalists from
last year and a decrease in the proportion of men.
-- About 74.9 per cent of journalists identify as white, 3.9 per cent
identify as Indigenous and 21.2 per cent identify as a visible minority.
-- Among supervisors, 83.7 per cent identify as white, compared to 2 per
cent identifying as Indigenous and 14.3 per cent identifying as a
visible minority. These percentages remain almost unchanged since the
2024 survey.
-- About 69.1 per cent of media outlets have no Indigenous or visible
minority people in their top three leadership positions.
-- "Interns" and "Part-time journalists" are the only categories where
white people are underrepresented compared to their census data.
Visit the CAJ website to view other key findings and to read the full report.
"As we look over five years of data, we're seeing that white journalists are consistently overrepresented in leadership and full-time roles," said CAJ national chair and survey lead Zane Schwartz. "While we've seen marginal increases in the representation of certain racial groups, there is clearly more work to be done to foster the careers of non-white journalists."
White journalists hold 83.7 per cent of supervisor roles and 78 per cent of the top three leadership positions in newsrooms. The 2025 survey results showed that about 69 per cent of newsrooms employed no Indigenous or visible minority journalists in the top three roles.
Nineteen media outlets employed no visible minority or Indigenous journalists. About 70 per cent of surveyed media outlets employed no Indigenous journalists, 67.8 per cent employed no Black journalists, and 75.6 per cent didn't have any Latin journalists on staff.
A comprehensive report detailing the national results, methodology, year-over-year comparisons, data limitations and a full list of participating newsrooms can be found on the CAJ website.
As in previous surveys, Pennsylvania-based data and analytics firm Qlik continued to play an integral role in this project. It provided the CAJ with data analysis and visualizations of survey results, allowing users to interact with newsroom survey results based on race, gender and job role.
"Reliable data is essential to understanding how well institutions reflect the communities they serve," shared Julie Kae, vice-president of sustainability and executive director of Qlik.org. "Qlik is proud to provide technology that helps our clients turn complex information into meaningful insights."
The CAJ will host a virtual press conference tonight at 5 p.m. ET to present the key findings of the Diversity Survey Report.
About the Canadian Race Relations Foundation
The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) is a federal Crown corporation mandated to raise public awareness of the causes and manifestations of racism in Canada. The organization has played an indispensable role in ensuring this survey is possible each year. Since the inception of the survey, the CRRF has generously provided $10,000 per year to the CAJ to support the costs involved in the work. This funding provides the means for the CAJ to hire the necessary staff to complete the work required. The CRRF supports, enables and convenes community groups and organizations through its grants, services and network of public, research and community partners. Supporting the CAJ diversity survey helps serve the CRRF's broader mission, as the CAJ Newsroom Diversity Survey generates data to capture the impacts of diversity efforts in newsrooms across the country.
About Qlik
Qlik converts complex data landscapes into actionable insights, driving strategic business outcomes. Serving over 40,000 global customers, our portfolio provides advanced, enterprise-grade AI/ML, data integration, and analytics. Our AI/ML tools, both practical and scalable, lead to better decisions, faster. We excel in data integration and governance, offering comprehensive solutions that work with diverse data sources. Intuitive analytics from Qlik uncover hidden patterns, empowering teams to address complex challenges and seize new opportunities. As strategic partners, our platform-agnostic technology and expertise make our customers more competitive.
About the CAJ
The CAJ is Canada's largest national professional organization for journalists from all media, representing members across the country. The CAJ's primary roles are to provide high-quality professional development for its members and public-interest advocacy.
SOURCE Canadian Association of Journalists
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