Is the PA’s leadership representative enough of the industry it serves?

The latest figures from the PA's own industry survey (The UK Publishing Workforce: Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in 2021 released on 25th March) show an increase in the diversity of the book trade workforce, with over half of those in executive leadership and senior management positions now female, and increased representation of people from ethnic minority groups (now 15%), so it's legitimate to ask why the PA's own leadership doesn't reflect this trend. I have been in the industry long enough to have seen five PA chief executives come and go - and all were men. Is it not perhaps time for a change? The BA is now headed by the always excellent Meryl Halls, the IPG by the very experienced Bridget Shine, and women are beginning to fill up the top jobs in publishing again, as in the 80s and 90s. And while women are well represented on the PA's governing body (though ethnic representation remains elusive), the search for a new chief executive has been so opaque that we have no way of knowing if there was any attempt to recruit a more diverse candidate.