Lack of Accountability Impedes Diversity and Inclusion Progress for Many Firms

by Wendy Gallo

While Arthur W. Page Society members remain dissatisfied with the level of diversity and inclusion on their communication teams, few are being held accountable for developing and implementing strategies to improve. This is the key finding of a recent student conducted by Syracuse University and funded and released by the PRSA Foundation and the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at the University of Alabama.

“The survey and study found that all of the respondents have begun some programs to effect change, but those strategies tend to lack accountability for progress, have little measurement tied to them and therefore result in slow movement in achieving the corporate diversity and inclusion goals,” says Dr. Hua Jiang, lead researcher and assistant professor in the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse.

About 64% of Page member respondents reported that their CEO and other C-Suite executives place a very high level of importance on diversity and inclusion; however, 72% do not have D&I goal achievement tied to their executive compensation.  Likewise, slightly more than half (58%) of all respondents said their Communication senior leadership teams placed a very high level of importance on D&I. Despite that, 86% of respondents do not tie D&I goal achievement to their leadership team’s compensation either.

Further, only 40% of Page member respondents claimed that they have integrated a comprehensive D&I strategy very well or completely well into their overall business strategy.

“If, as an industry, we are to meaningfully impact the issue of diversifying our organizations, public relations leaders must combine our public advocacy of diversity and inclusion with clear and measurable accountability for achieving those objectives,” said Torod B. Neptune, president of the PRSA Foundation and Corporate Vice President, Corporate Communications at Verizon Communications, Inc.

The majority of the Page Society members surveyed do have diversity and inclusion goals and objectives and those fit well into their companies’ corporate character and missions.  Those Page member organizations that seem to be making the most traction in achieving their goals have strong leadership support and commitment.

According to the study, the most effective best practices identified are:

  •     Leadership support of proactive recruitment strategies with ethnically diverse universities and professional associations,
  •     Having a dedicated effort focused on employee engagement, using grass-roots, corporate funded affinity and employee resource groups, and,
  •     Two-directional reaffirmation of skills and abilities to help with retention of talent.

“The findings of this study are aimed at helping public relations leaders build upon best-practices in our field as well as in other industries,” says Dr. Karla Gower, executive director of the Plank Center. She went on to say that “We recognize that some industries might be ahead of our field in effecting change in this space.”

In addition to the summary of this report found at www.prsafoundation.org, an academic research paper, which won the Institute of Public Relations Research Significance Award and the Page Center at Penn State’s Benchmark Award, will be available at the International Interdisciplinary Public Relations Research Conference website.

The PRSA Foundation, the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, Syracuse University and the Arthur W. Page Society gave financial and in-kind support to complete this study.

 

 

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