PR diversity

Embracing Diversity In and Out of the Office

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Diversity is one of the biggest employer buzzwords out there right now, but the truth is that PR has a big diversity problem. One of the main problems with workplace diversity is that it’s sometimes viewed as a top-down initiative meant to make the company look good, not to improve the workplace or services offered. New Pros, with their differing outlooks and definitions of what “diversity” is, can help solve PR’s lingering issue.

Original plans for diversity included hiring people of different races, backgrounds, genders, etc., and to have those groups equally represented within the workplace to create a diverse employee pool. But is that actually the thing to do to help better understand and provide for your clients and audiences or is that just checking off boxes and creating a fun illusion of inclusion and diversity? I’d say it’s the latter.

Today’s new pros are a great example of the cultural shift happening in America, and the world over. More and more of us come from blended backgrounds and we’re described as “an ethnically diverse generation who are team players, optimistic, confident, trusting of authority, rule-followers, achievers in school and generally achievement-oriented in everything they undertake.” Seeing, interacting with and working with people from diverse backgrounds is commonplace because that’s the world we’ve come of age in. We care more about diversity in ideas, philosophies and perspectives than how people look, where they’re from and whether there’s equal representation.

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The biggest benefit of a diverse team is that it inspires creativity and productivity. Thoughtfully listening to and talking with those who see things and think about things in ways that you may not helps us to see new perspectives and think outside of our normal boxes. It almost goes without saying that there’s no such thing as being too creative in PR. The open flow of communication between employees of all backgrounds is important to effective brainstorming and problem solving and should be used by all teams, even if that means taking the brainstorming sessions into your own hands and on your own time.

In addition to being more productive and better problem solvers, a diverse team tends to adapt more easily. Whether that’s to new obstacles, changes within the team or changes to the project, adaptability is important to success, especially in PR, where things constantly change. Talking through problems and strategizing the best plan for what’s ahead is a key advantage that comes from bringing together people with varied perspectives and backgrounds to tackle a project.

Since diversity often be a bigger initiative put in place by executives or managers, it may seem like there’s nothing that a new pro can do to influence how diverse a team they are work on. There are plenty of things that today’s new pros can do to make diversity a common part of their their career development. When you have the opportunity, speak up about any coworkers whom you think would add a good, new perspective to a project you’re working on if there’s an opportunity for adding a new team member or seeking out their thoughts.When you’re in a position, maybe a little further along in your career, to make decisions on team structure, bring in members who think differently than you do and offer a different perspective.

New pros should also look outside the workplace to embrace diversity. Look for opportunities to embrace another culture, through festivals, celebrations, studying or simply interacting with those of another culture near you. Travel and experience new areas and traditions. Seek out friends of different backgrounds and ideas. Make diversity less about having equal representation or “checking the boxes” to make sure everything’s covered and more about being a well-rounded, open-minded professional.

Robyn Rudish-Laning (1)Robyn Rudish-Laning is a member of South Carolina’s PRSA chapter and is communications coordinator for the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness. Robyn is also a member of the New Professionals executive committee and is a two-time graduate of Duquesne University who currently lives in Columbia, SC. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter or read her blog here.

Become a Diversity Superhero: Use Your #PRDiversity Superpowers

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Happy Diversity Month, new professionals!

I am passionate about diversity and human rights, but I don’t consider myself an activist. Rather, I am a storyteller, I am a superhero with a superpower. I believe that public relations professionals have the superpower to influence people’s behaviors not by communicating empty words but by using real stories to become agents of change.

Back in mid 2014, I decided to become a superhero with PRSA so I joined the Diversity Committee (now called Diversity and Inclusion Committee). As a committee member, I have seen super heroes from various backgrounds and different career stages work together in a variety of initiatives. In the committee, we use our superpowers to educate our membership on current issues related to diversity and inclusion throughout partnerships with the PRSA Foundation and other affiliate organizations, contributing blog posts to PRSay, hosting webinars and the #PRDiversity Twitter chats.

Although progress has been made, the work done by the D&I committee in cooperation with industry leaders and companies is far from complete. As our industry continues to evolve and to adapt to the new technologies we are presented with almost every day, the need to diversify the demographics of our practitioners and to work towards a more inclusive work environment is still as relevant today as it was more than 20 years ago when PRSA launched its first diversity initiative.

A launching statement for Diversity Month this year: “Lack of #PRDiversity makes Diversity Month more relevant” by Ana Toro, APR, Fellow PRSA stated, “many studies indicate that the industry still struggles to attract young Black, Asians, and Hispanic to pursue public relations as their career choice, while there is a lack of diversity in management positions industry-wide.”

The New Professionals Section leadership understands the importance of promoting diversity and inclusion among young practitioners. This year, I was selected as a diversity superhero (formally known as diversity liaison) for our section. In this role, I started two main initiatives that will be relaunched over Diversity Month:

* #DiversityTuesday: the posting of digital content over Twitter and Facebook that aims to raise awareness of diversity and inclusion topics of importance to new pros.

* What does diversity mean to you? Blog Series: A blog series that invites young practitioners to share their thoughts on diversity and inclusion through blog posting. On that note, if you would like to contribute to the series, contact me at henryc@uvu.edu.

In the second half of the year, an updated version of the Diversity Tool Kit® will be distributed to the local New Professional Leadership to contribute to and promote their diversity efforts.

Become a Diversity Superhero: Celebrate Diversity Month!

* Join and learn from Hugo Balta, Senior Director of Multicultural Content at ESPN, at PRSA’s webinar: “Diversity & Inclusion: The Competitive Edge” on August 16th from 3-4 PM EDT.

* Follow @PRSADiversity and use the #PRDiversity to promote an online conversation in diversity and inclusion topics.

* Post a diversity related question or share your knowledge with other professionals on the Online Forum hosted by the D&I Committee.

When we transitioned from PRSSA to PRSA, we all came with a different set of skills and aspirations. Not all of us came from the same demographic and socio economic background. Our job experiences along with our opinions and beliefs were, are, and will never be the same. All these components blended together make us unique and diverse.

To become a diversity superhero, working towards inclusion, and more specifically, acceptance, is a must. To excel in our profession and move on to management roles successfully, accepting all members of our team is an imperative. Being or learning to be in the mindset that all team members are valuable and have something to contribute will make of our industry more diverse and welcoming.

How are you going to become a superhero for Diversity Month?

Untitled design (10)Henry Cervera Nique serves as the diversity liaison for the New Professionals Section and is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Follow him on Twitter @SoyHenryCervera

 

Diversity in the PR Industry Has Yet to Match Consumer Spending

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Editor’s Note: The following post is part of the ongoing “What does diversity mean to you?” series on The Edge. This series provides insights into diversity and inclusion topics of value to new professionals. Specifically, this post is in honor of Women’s History Month. To help us champion diversity in PR and to write for the series, email our diversity liaison Henry Cervera Nique.

Over the past century, women have steadily taken the reigns in consumerism, becoming primary decision makers in household spending, as well as increasing spending power across the world. Although women have come to dominate purchasing decisions within the home, and have come to spend more money overall, the way brands have chosen to reach these consumers has changed relatively little since the mid-20th century.

The ways brands reach women continue to ride a predictable line of archetypes, stereotypes and tropes about womanhood and the desires which are met through consumer products. As far as women have come in the United States, the fact that women still struggle to achieve high ranks in the public relations and advertising industries means that consumer facing companies aren’t tapping into diversity in order to reach their target markets.

In 2013, the public relations industry showed men outnumbering women at the board level by 2:1. This is a stark number considering that, in 2015, only 40 percent of public relations practitioners were men, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It certainly isn’t impossible for men to effectively communicate with women, though the ability to realistically understand and reflect the pain points and solutions that women consider when making purchasing decisions is harder without women influencing decisions at the corporate table. That would explain why Jack Morton, a brand experience agency, found that 91 percent of women surveyed felt advertisers did not understand them.

In the United States, women are reported to contribute somewhere between $5-15 trillion in consumer spending and, according to Fleishman-Hillard, they are expected to control two-thirds of consumer wealth within the ten years.

With so much money on the table, do practitioners believe the ability to effectively target women is sustainable while consumer demographics turn so sharply away from the standard American default of middle-aged men?

To further complicate the issue, not only do women continue to increase their purchasing power in the U.S. economy, but women of color are quickly claiming a dominating place in the market. For instance, though black men continue to be economic leaders in the black community, black women are building power as they make impressive gains in education and entrepreneurship as the most college educated group in the country.

These changes should not be a surprise due to the changing demographics that show non-white ethnic groups comprising 36.5 percent of the population by 2020. However, even with concerted to increase Black and Latino employment in the industry, the two groups totaled only 19.2 percent of practitioners in 2014.

In an effort to match the new (but really not new at all) demographics of the United States, public relations practitioners must continue working to achieve a workplace balance that truly speaks to the diversity of target audiences being courted – if not for the well-being of society and inclusive culture, then at least for self-interest and the need for survival. The failure to adapt to the motivations of growing consumer groups by reflecting those groups within an organization is a mistake that could amount to self-destruction.

WCFBdZPWPamela Chinawah supports a range of food and beverage clients within an agency in Los Angeles, and continues to work independently in lifestyle brands and film. She is a graduate of California State University, Northridge, where she served as Chapter President of PRSSA. Pamela is admittedly obsessed with media and pop culture as well as politics and social equality. Her deepest passions explore how mass media affect societal values and behavior. Connect with Pamela on LinkedIn or Twitter.