PRSA Foundation President and former IPR Trustee Torod Neptune sat down with IPR President & CEO Tina McCorkindale to discuss the future of diversity in the field of public relations.

If you had to give a grade on a report card, what would you give the PR industry as a whole for diversity?

Across the public relations landscape, including corporate and agency, we are probably at a B- or C. There are also caveats. I believe corporate does a much better job than agencies here. Consistently, we have done better year-over-year in our efforts to recruit diverse talent, but where we clearly have work to do is in retention. Read more.
Natalie Tindall, Ph.D., Georgia State University

The port of entry for the PR profession-college classrooms- reflect the diversity and plurality of the United States. Yet, the diversity witnessed in many college classrooms across the country is not in play in many settings where PR and strategic communications are practiced. For many students, they will not see many people of color in leadership roles or even visible in associations.

Is there a place for plurality, diversity, and inclusion in public relations? That requires examination of an organization's motivations, behaviors, and beliefs that has to be genuine and reflexive and might be continuous, messy and contentious. For the sake of our publics, there has to be. For the sake of those who are coming into the profession, there must be. Read more.
Dean Mundy, Ph.D., University of Oregon
Organizations today understand the important role diversity and inclusion (D&I) plays in organizational success. It contributes to organizational culture, marketplace competitiveness and social responsibility. Most of the top corporations have hired chief diversity officers, for example Johnson & Johnson, AT&T and the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.

Simply put, conveying an organization's commitment to D&I is becoming a competitive cornerstone for all types of organizations' business models. In the last 10 years, there has been an increasing call to PR professionals to examine best practices and lead the efforts into incorporating D&I into an organization's entire communication strategy. Read more.
The New CCO: Transforming Enterprises in a Changing World
Gary Sheffer, Institute for Public Relations and Arthur W. Page Society

Chief Communication Officers (CCO) today must be quick studies and must do so in many areas. Geopolitics, physical and behavioral sciences, social media, macroeconomics, leadership and other issues cross their plates regularly.

But no area is more important to CCOs than using research and measurement to find new insights into a changing environment. Read more. 
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