Diversity in PR

We had an interesting presentation today about diversity in public relations. We learnt that the brown pound is an estimated £40billion, the pink pound is £70b and the grey pound a staggering £250b! Yet, it was revealed today that the majority of UK PR campaigns are aimed at the young, white market (By young I mean under 50s).

I wonder if this is because the majority of peope in the PR industry are white and under 50, therefore pitching to their comfort zone. What would a 40 something year old white man (with a good salary) know how to promote items to 20-something afro-caribbeans? It's easy to see how mistakes like Trident's "Mastication for the Nation" campaigns can occur.

the CIPR has a whole section on diversity, where it claims it holds
" Testimonials from successful PR practitioners from minority backgrounds and Case studies on PR campaigns targeted at diverse audiences" (http://www.cipr.co.uk/diversity/)

It is full of matter-of-fact comments on how diversity is an asset your company. It also claims that By 2011, only 18% of the workforce will be white, male, not disabled, under 35 and heterosexual What workforce is this? The points previous were talking about the UK as a whole and the labour workforce. If this is in relation to PR then perhaps as 80% are currently women, but it is not clear and surely they are not implying the labour or general UK workforce as perviously mentioned. Because as the ESRC report, 92.1% of the population is white, 50% are male and only 16% of the population is over 65. I find it all very confusing.


Dr. Rochelle L. Ford, APR wrote a paper for the PRSA that states:
"Echoing the PRSA 2002 diversity survey, the majority of respondents (63 percent) felt that the PR industry is only mildly committed to taking actions in recruiting a more diverse work force. Likewise, 61.6 percent said that the industry is only somewhat successful in recruiting a more diverse work force; no one reported that the industry had done very well."
(http://www.prsa.org/diversity/diversity%20dimensions/studyExamines.htm)

While many companies may not have a diverse workforce, it is unclear as to whether or not this is due to the graduates not being minorities or if the companies themselves are more comfortable hiring a white taskforce.

As a minority myself - mixed race - I have not every really thought of
myself as a "minority" in any sense. My PR courses have been filled with ethnically diverse groups, many female, and while in my work experiences I have dealt with many white, british associates, we all appear to be on the same level. However our taste in cuisine is quite different! In conclusion I believe because 92% of the population is white and with only a small percetange being senior (regardless of their grey pound status) campaigns are more driven to the white, under 50s market, leaving practitioners in their comfort zone. Let's take another look at the statistics in 2011, who knows, perhaps then the "30 something, white guy" will be the minority!