Recognizing Black PR Pioneers Can Ease Difficult Conversations

As we celebrate Black History Month, it’s time for the PR industry to self-reflect. As a profession that prides itself on its ability to build relationships, we have failed at connecting with, recruiting and promoting professionals of color.

Blacks, who are 12.4 percent of all people living in the U.S., hold just 3.5 percent of PR management jobs, according to 2021 data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

The situation in PR employment is mixed. Across 100+ U.S.-based PR and communication organizations slightly more than 21 percent of employees are racially/ethnically diverse, says last year's “Race and Ethnicity in Public Relations and Communications Benchmark Report” from the Diversity Action Alliance.

On the other hand, of 22 percent of employees promoted in 2019, fewer than one-fifth were racially/ethnically diverse, the Report says.