Helping organisations demystify the ’S’ in ESG; Sustainability & Equity & Inclusion Champion; Keynote speaker; Podcast Host: The Elephant in the Room; Founding Member PRCA(REEB)
"About two-thirds of the agencies taking part in this year’s PRWeek UK Top 150 Consultancies project continue to have all-white boards." PRWeek UK Does this come as a shock? No, Not really for people working to build a more inclusive industry. These numbers were to be expected. I feel some anger and more despair..............It is not just me but research shows that most DEI efforts since BLM and COVID were performative and opportunistic, so they were doomed to fail. Within our industry there has been a disproportionate focus on diverse hires, numbers and representations - but at lower levels. Here we are talking about some of the most powerful agencies in the world and the UK. They advise clients on reputation, DEI, sustainability and are asking their clients to change to be relevant in the future! Ironical considering they are not willing to or see the need to change. Change does not happen when you maintain status quo. Change does not happen when you don't invest time and money into enabling that change. Change also does not happen without a vision. And change will definitely will not happen without the buy in from industry leaders and board members. Incremental change is good, but increasing representation at leadership levels and in the C-suite requires transformational thinking, a willingness to adapt, to recognise that this is an imperative, allocate resources and hold themselves accountable. To see any real change in my working life we need to recognise that ethnic minorities with leadership aspirations face (and will face) the broken rung, the glass ceiling, glass cliff and a system stacked against them, that encourages homophily. Small comfort that the number of black and ethnic minorities in the industry has increased from last year, but we know leadership aspirants will drop out when they cannot see role models or people like themselves leading. Industry leaders know that DEI can no longer just be a talking point or tick box, it is a fundamental building block of social justice and a human rights concern. We will be held to account! So, let's see leaders step up, and be accountable not just for profits but for building a fairer industry. Well done PRWeek UK on the insights👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 #buildbackbetter #inclusionandbelonging #rolemodels #ethnicminorityleaders
The ROI Guy • I help DEI Consultants get more warm leads • Download my ROI of DEI white paper to learn the framework (see featured section)
5moGreat insights. What do you think about implementing mentorship programs for aspiring leaders to bridge the gap in representation and support progression? P.S. Could this help foster a more inclusive industry?