White elitism in the PR sector hampers racial inclusiveness
LOS ANGELES- The recent wave of controversy surrounding the lack of ethnic diversity in Hollywood serves as a sour reminder that despite having a Black President, racial inequity in the workforce continues to be a major problem. Unfortunately, the lack of ethnic diversity is not solely limited to the entertainment sector, but can also be found in the public relations sector, an industry notoriously known for its lack of racial inclusiveness. With a US Census Bureau forecast projecting people of color to make up 49.9% of the US population by 2050, the need for a more ethnically diverse and inclusive industry couldn’t be more pressing.
To bring salience to this issue, 2014 data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that merely 8.7% of people employed in public relations were African Americans, 10.5% Hispanics, with women holding 60% of public relations jobs in a field that is dominated by Caucasian females. These data supplied by the PRSA foundation contextualize the gravity of the situation, and underlines the magnitude of this pandemic. Sadly, the lack of racial inclusiveness in the PR sector is also felt at the managerial level, with a reported percentage of African American public relations managers comprising of only 2.7 % according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and as quoted by Lisa Vallee-Smith, CEO of the Airfoil Group. According to Smith, that 2.7% equates to a disturbing total of just 1,890 African American public relations managers in the US which is supposed to represent 37.6 million African Americans today.
Such staggering numbers underscore an industry out of touch with today’s ethnic reality and complacent to the fact that by 2050, people of color will make the majority of the US. These numbers are outrageous, and the institutional system that has allowed the status quo of White elitism and entitlement to prevail must be unapologetically addressed. A serious injustice is transpiring in the public relations sector, and standing by complacently to such injustice should not be tolerated.
The lack of ethnic diversity in the PR sector has been a thorny issue for far too long and the industry’s promise to redress such racial imbalance and find ways to bring inclusiveness has not led to any concrete measures to address this injustice.
Interestingly enough, the PR industry is also facing another problem of its own. With White women comprising the majority of the PR workforce, and White males dominating the corporate glass ceiling, it is perplexing to see how an entrenched White patriarchal status quo has remained unchallenged for so long.
