10 Key Learnings
A few key learnings from the data collected in the last 3 months.
To those who have supported our call for change and action in the industry, thank-you. We will continue to hold everyone accountable until we see an equitable future for our industry.
Black employees were impacted by covid-19 layoffs more than their white peers,
Despite accounting for a smaller percentage of the workforce, black and brown over indexed for lay offs during a pandemic, they already are statistically more impacted by than their peers. This sends a message to Black/POC employees in the industry, that their white peers financial security, health and well being is more important than their own.
PR Agencies are hiding their poor diversity practices and data behind holding companies.
This leads to lack of transparency and ultimately accountability. We are asking for employees at these agencies to anonymously share their experiences, so that the erasure of their experiences does not continue.
You can not measure what you do not track.
Many agencies shared data from 2018, noting that they didn’t have any data more recent. Agencies need to commit to reviewing their diversity metrics 1-2x per year.
Brands tend to care about diversity more than the PR Agencies that represent them.
Despite creating campaigns for consumers, in the PR industry, agency’s clients are brands, not people. With that in mind, we believe they feel less pressure to diversify and therefore do not. In the end, a company will not be moved to create radical change within their walls unless it affects their bottom line. This is clearly reflected in the numbers we received, company hiring practices and the stories we continue to receive about the toxic work culture that Black people face daily.
There are still PR agencies that exist in 2020 without any black employees.
We believe PR agencies need to continue to learn, continue to listen, and START TO ACT.
PR Agencies have been saying for far too long that they are “learning and listening”. Now is the time to have words translate into meaningful action. The pandemic can not delay plans that should have been enforced decades ago.
Treat Diversity KPIs, like your BUSINESS KPIs
The diversity KPIs that have been created should hold weight in the organizational goals like everyday business KPIs. If the action plans set forth by agencies are not met, it is imperative for there to be business consequences (i.e no promotion, reduced bonuses, etc.). This would be similar to if any employee did not meet business KPIs.
Even in the fight for equality and equity, the four Black founders of Hold The PRess continue to face racism, microaggression, and erasure within the industry.
The irony of our outreach is that several industry leaders that did respond to our request for data took the opportunity to chastise our methods and tone police four Black women they never met -- simply for demanding equality.
