By Lucy Ventura
Feeling like you belong somewhere is an essential thing to look for when considering a position as an employee. One of the most important things a PR Professional should value and incorporate into their job is equity, diversity and inclusion. DEI is continuously thrown around these days, but what does it really mean?
For many, distinguishing between these three words can be difficult. Diversity refers to the ways in which people differ from one another in how they identify themselves, equity is the fair treatment and opportunities for all people while trying to eliminate barriers that prevent everyone from being able to participate and inclusion is creating an environment that is welcoming and supportive. I heard someone once define it and it stuck: diversity is where everyone is invited to your party, equity is allowing everyone to contribute to the party playlist and inclusion is everyone having the opportunity to experience or dance to the music. DEI is important in the PR field because we communicate with and represent people of all backgrounds.
Though you may not think you are biased, everyone has implicit biases. Implicit biases occur unintentionally but affect one’s behavior toward others.
DEI is not only valuable to incorporate in your work life, but in your daily life. Here are three ways to promote DEI in these spaces:
Educate yourself.
To begin implementing DEI you have to understand what each of these stand for.
Diversity is all the characteristics that compose one’s identity. This is often only thought of in reference to race, ethnicity and gender but diversity also includes age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, ideas and values.
Equity is the fair treatment, access and opportunity for all while recognizing and eliminating the barriers one may experience.
Inclusion is creating an environment that’s welcoming, respectful and supportive for all people to feel like they can fully participate in the community.
Educating yourself on these terms is a great start but it’s important to also educate yourself on important topics and backgrounds. These topics include racial equity, micro-aggressions, intersectionality, and others.
Put DEI at the forefront.
PR Professionals should refer to the Diversity and Inclusion wheel which shows unconscious biases or blind spots PR Professionals could have. This allows you to think about all kinds of people and consider whether different groups are represented in your campaigns. Your goal should be to work with DEI already incorporated into your message strategy or planning, not working to have “add-in’s” for DEI. These “add-in’s” could refer to adding in forced workshops or trainings, but it should just be something we refer to and acknowledge in our daily lives.
Recognizing your implicit bias.
Though you may not think you are biased, everyone has implicit biases. Implicit biases occur unintentionally but affect one’s behavior toward others. This includes race and ethnicity bias, age bias, gender bias, sexual orientation bias and ability bias. Instead of feeling ashamed of this normal occurrence, use it to further educate yourself and others in an effort to reduce them. Recognizing one’s implicit biases can be done simply by taking the Implicit Bias Test. The Implicit Bias test is meant to show you biases that you never thought of or simply just thought you didn’t have. The results help indicate whether you may have an implicit preference for one group over the other in terms of biases one might hold against a group or stereotypes.
It goes further than that though, as Carmen Acton wrote in her article “Are You Aware of Your Biases?”, “The key is to slow down and investigate your beliefs and assumptions so that you can see the other person for who they truly are. As a leader, it’s easy to think that you don’t have time to pause. But taking a few minutes to question yourself can make all the difference to you and your team.”
Overall, it’s vital to keep an open mind when considering topics in DEI areas. Allow others to challenge you and your beliefs, encouraging your curiosity and education for the future.
Check out these resources used in this article for more information on DEI and more:
4 steps for putting diversity at the forefront of PR.
DEI in PR: Its Importance and How to Create a More Inclusive Workspace
8 Expert Tips on Diversity and Inclusion in Public Relations