UK music licensing company PPL has appointed Tomi Oyewumi to the newly created role of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Partner.

Oyewumi will help PPL to deliver its long-term strategy of addressing EDI issues within the company and the wider music industry.

Working with PPL’s People and Organisational Team and Diversity Forum, Oyewumi will work on ensuring that PPL fulfils its pledge to deliver the Black Music Coalition’s five calls to action and the UK Music Diversity Taskforce Ten-Point Plan.

Oyewumi joins PPL from Heineken where she was Collaboration Manager and Inclusion and Diversity Taskforce Lead, playing a key role in developing policies geared towards creating a more diverse workplace. She was also a member of the brand advisory panel at ADD PSALTS, a retail brand accelerator which provides black-owned brands with industry expertise in order to launch them in the UK market.

Tomi Oyewumi said: “I am delighted and proud to be joining PPL as their EDI Partner, I believe there is nothing more important than the impact you have on others. This is the legacy I want to leave behind, a legacy of positive change and equity.”

In addition to creating the EDI Partner role, PPL has already acted on a number of pledges made since Blackout Tuesday in June 2020 with the aim of creating a more equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace and industry.

As well as launching an internal Diversity Forum, PPL has committed to an annual budget to support Black organisations, educational programmes and charities. The organisation has also reviewed its mandatory unconscious bias training and created a terminology guide highlighting inclusive and non-inclusive language.

“I want to welcome Tomi to PPL and thank her for joining us at such an important time for our industry,” said Peter Leathem, Chief Executive Officer at PPL. “The desire for positive change, from all corners of the music ecosystem, is an encouraging sign and Tomi will play a crucial role in ensuring PPL is a place of work that welcomes and champions anyone, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, age, disability, background or any other protected characteristic. Over the past year we have introduced a number of policies and initiatives and made positive strides to achieving our goals, but there is still much more we need to do. I am excited to work with Tomi to drive forward this positive change.”

A recent survey from industry organisation UK Music revealed that Black, Asian and other ethnically diverse employees account for just 19.9% – or 1 in 5 – of top music jobs.

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