Reflecting on PR’s Diverse Present
How four communicators are encouraging diversity, equity and inclusion communications.
Authors: Sarah Heiman, Becca Moe, Daisy Uy and Charmaine Blair
The Future of PR Looks Like Us campaign
This blog is part of a series called The Future of PR Looks Like Us, a meaningful campaign led by a team of Centennial College public relations and corporate communications postgraduate students in partnership with the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms (CCPRF). Our goal is to highlight the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the public relations (PR) industry.
This blog accompanies a podcast series exploring the diverse voices that have shaped the industry and featuring work done by PR students from Centennial College. Learn about diverse figures of PR’s past that have shaped the industry for BIPOC professionals today. Listen in to uncover misconceptions and gain a sense of the opportunities the industry holds. The series closes by emphasizing the bright future PR professionals and students see for the growing diversity within the industry.
Introduction
Last week we discussed Black public relations (PR) pioneers who helped lay the groundwork for a diverse communications industry. This work is still happening today and has been thrust into the forefront of the zeitgeist by the Black Lives Matter movement (#BLM). The more comfortable we become discussing diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) the faster we will see impactful progress.
Diverse representation is essential within the PR industry. We need to involve people from every walk of life for the industry and profession to benefit. We learned from conversations with Fatyma Khan, Meghann Cox, Jeannette Holder and Mubashira Farooqi, four Toronto-based communicators that diversity is an ongoing process that won’t happen overnight, but if we use our voices and encourage others to do the same, we can keep the process moving.
As Ali Sar, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press said in last weekend’s Golden Globes in regards to there being no Black members of the organization, there needs to be work done to ensure the industry is one where “diverse membership is the norm, not the exception.” This applies to PR and communications as well. When we make diversity the norm, everyone will benefit.
Fatyma Khan
Fatyma is the senior lead of communications at the Ontario Brain Institute. She brings her wealth of knowledge and experiences to the communications industry from living on three different continents in three different countries.
Fatyma shared her experiences and knowledge with us and we learned how she approaches DE&I in her life and at work. She reminded us that these huge leaps and jumps that we want to see in advancement towards DE&I unfortunately don’t happen overnight. It’s a process that takes hard work and dedication that the entire staff and executive team must commit to. She notes that as a team, it’s important to identify the gaps that exist and then learn how to work toward filling them.
Fatyma tells us very eloquently to “nudge” our leaders when we see the opportunities to further diversity. Don’t be afraid of using your voice and letting them know.
As Fatyma discussed how she defines diversity, she said that we are always exploring what diversity means, that it’s a constantly growing definition. That’s a great perspective to have, especially when it comes to DE&I. One of the most important things to note is that we always have more learning ahead of us. The education when it comes to DE&I is never over, therefore our definitions and understandings of diversity should always be growing along with our knowledge.
It’s important for young BIPOC professionals to be motivated, confident and resilient, and that’s something we’re learning to be more comfortable with as we progress. However, the advice Fatyma gave young BIPOC professionals was not commonly discussed. She said that when people reach out and ask questions, it’s important that we respond and don’t react. A lot of the time BIPOC individuals can receive questions that should not always be expected to have an answer. And often, we react and don’t respond. Fatyma reminds us that it’s important that we make both people feel safe in this space. Whether that is politely rejecting the question or taking the time to respond, she tells us that these interactions will be remembered.
Finally, Fatyma shares perhaps the most important information for communicators. We are storytellers, and telling our stories with those around us is what we do. Sharing stories and cultures will make us more humane to each other and that carries over into our work.
Mubashira Farooqi
Mubashira has established herself as a communications professional early in her career, dedicated to progressing and promoting DE&I. She is the founder and host of the Colour Me PR podcast, a communications fellow at FleishmanHillard Highroad, and IABC Toronto’s lead on the Student Communicator’s Circle. She is already a decorated professional winning IABC/Toronto’s Student of the Year award and CPRS Toronto’s Student Campaign of the Year award in 2020.
Mubashira has so much knowledge and insight to share regarding DE&I in PR despite her relatively short time spent in the industry. This shows that the more you immerse yourself in a topic and discuss it with others, the more comfortable you will be discussing it. She used her school work to learn more about DEI and brought it to the forefront of her personal life and work. Launching her podcast, Colour Me PR, allowed her to discuss DE&I with BIPOC women in communications who are demonstrating the value of diversity in their everyday work.
Mubashira’s perseverance and desire to push change forward in the industry is inspiring. She saw a barrier and wanted to find a solution. This is the mindset we can all bring to any challenge we face. Mubashira found that using her voice was the best way to encourage others to use their own voices. And like Mubashira, finding a community to support us makes that so much easier.
Mubashira makes some insightful suggestions for how we can build diverse communities and workplaces. It involves reflecting on the processes we have in place and looking for ways to make diverse people feel included and valued. She says, “it’s about connecting with people on a human level.” This comes from asking people how they’re doing and genuinely wanting to hear their reply and share their experiences, thoughts and opinions. If we interact with each other with honesty, acceptance and inclusivity become that much easier.
Meghann Cox
Meghann is the manager of communications at Sportsnet, Rogers Media. She stands for female representation within a male dominated sports industry. She has been involved in initiatives and programs to progress representation of minorities in sport, journalism and communications.
The largest takeaway we learned from Meghann, is to let inspiration take charge. When inspired and motivated, we create productive and meaningful change. Meghann had the power to launch not one, but two initiatives to advance DE&I work within the industry. Meghann launched the “Sportsnet Inclusion & Gender Diversity Initiative.” This initiative gives funding to students pursuing journalism at Ryerson who identify as a visible minority, POC, or a woman. The meaning behind this initiative is to empower the next generation of journalists, aiming to reflect the diversity in Canada.
Not only did Meghann launch this initiative but she also worked on an initiative called hometown hockey and Cree. Working with APTN they created an NHL hockey broadcast in Plains Cree. Meghann tells us that the team at APTN are so passionate about this initiative, because it’s a way to use their language to connect with the younger generations. A simple idea of pushing a seemingly small initiative can have such great impact. Language is something very important for many Indigenous communities. Intergenerational trauma has caused a loss of language within many Indigenous communities. And rediscovering the culture and learning the language can be something so meaningful.
Jeannette Holder
Jeannette is an experienced communications professional who shared her experiences working in an organization, PwC, that worked hard to build an environment that supports and fosters DE&I. She discussed how having someone advocating for diversity on the executive level of the organization encouraged sharing and discussion to build understanding and a stronger employee community.
Before moving into her role at CAAT Pension Plan, Jeannette’s time at PwC Communications presented an opportunity to work with a team that cared about diversity, equity and inclusion. This was evident as she was involved in the efforts made to help employees transition to working at home at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Having a diversity and inclusion officer as part of the executive team was something the organization had in place even prior to the anti-Black racism protests sparked by the George Floyd incident in 2020. Jeannette speaks to the leadership that was shown by the organization as they invited BIPOC employees to share their own experiences in order to gain more understanding. In addition, the creation of a task force in the Black community was significant, and these initiatives encouraged Jeannette to use her own voice in a way she did not before. She was telling stories that mattered.
What Jeannette learned as a PR professional is that trust is necessary and helps to build a foundation for good communication. Integrity is everything. She spoke about the value of integrity and stressed that it is all we have.
Student reflection
To conclude, we as PR professionals have the opportunity to shape the industry and workplaces into where we want to work. Like all progress it takes time, however, it’s work worth doing.
This process of increasing and fostering DE&I in the industry doesn’t fall on communicators alone. It also falls on the organizations we serve. This is why it’s important to see organizations like the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms encouraging members to sign the pledge to help eliminate racism, inequity and discrimination in the industry.
These professionals, overall, have shown us how small acts and being aware of diversity are the first steps towards DE&I in the workplace and society. It’s a long road ahead, but these small acts make waves of influence.
