Public Relations Society of America Launches Diversity Initiative.

Diversity is one of the foremost issues facing Corporate America today. In response, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has launched Advancing Diversity, a national initiative that brings together various elements to promote multiculturalism in both the public relations industry and business community.

“No other national communications, media or marketing organization has committed the resources, the expertise and the leadership that PRSA has provided to make diversity a substantive part of the organization’s present and future,” said Rosanna Fiske, APR, chair of PRSA’s National Diversity Committee. “Advancing Diversity firmly positions PRSA as the leading organization providing professional development, career opportunities and networking for diverse professionals, professionals who want to communicate with diverse audiences and professionals who want to strongly change their organizations through valuing and managing diversity.”

One of the major benefits of Advancing Diversity is that it will not only benefit the more than 20,000 professional members and 8,000 student members of the organization, but nonmembers will find it useful as well, said Fiske. Here is a look at what Advancing Diversity has to offer:

Enhanced Online Career Web site

Diversity PRos, a newly added component to PRSA’s online Job Center, offers both candidates and employers the opportunity to identify special skills obtained through experience, special training or personal interests. Focusing on diversity specializations, Diversity PRos was created in response to the need and demand in communications employment for a pool of candidates with diversity experience. This new Job Center component helps employers identify individuals who have public relations experience, special training or personal interests and skills in the areas of multicultural communications and diversity.

www.diversity.prsa.org

This Site within PRSA’s national Site provides specific information, knowledge and tools that can guide organizations through the development of their own diversity initiatives.

Diversity Tool Kit

This resource contains diversity-related research, materials, applicable tools, professional development opportunities and links to key organizations.

More Diverse News Services

Because providing more diversity-related, public relations or marketing news to members and nonmembers is an important component of the Advancing Diversity program, PRSA has signed an agreement with HispanicPRWire and BlackPRWire to provide news feeds directly onto the PRSA home page. Other alliances are under discussion to serve different purposes and further diversity value and management.

Diversity Experts

Advancing Diversity also provides a strong network of experts who are available to speak about the important role diversity plays in Corporate America. They have already taken part in numerous PRSA programs.

For more than 20 years, diversity has been a key issue for PRSA. In the late 1990s, numerous members formed the Multicultural Communications Professional Interest Section. In 2000, African-American public relations pioneer Ofield Dukes, APR, Fellow PRSA, was appointed to lead PRSA’s first official national diversity initiative, which resulted in the first-ever Chapter Diversity Awards being presented to the Detroit, Georgia and Greater Cleveland Chapters in 2003. During the past three years, diversity – along with advocacy and professional development – has been one of the Society’s top three priorities.

“Through the efforts of the National Diversity Committee and the new Advancing Diversity initiative, PRSA will become a stronger, more culturally rich organization that better reflects the diversity of our Society and our profession,” said 2004 PRSA President and CEO Del Galloway, APR.

Joining Fiske on PRSA’s National Diversity Committee’s leadership are vice chairs Marc Little, president, Marc Little Public Relations, Jacksonville, Fla.; Pender McCarter, APR, Fellow PRSA, director, communications and PR, IEEE-USA, Washington, D.C.; and Bill Imada, chairman and CEO, IW Group, Inc., Los Angeles.