The Importance of Diversity in Advertising and Public Relations

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The advertising industry is crucial in defining the norms of society. So many ads include more diverse actors, whether that be POC or LGBTQ+ couples, there is no question that what we are seeing is much more diverse than in past years. However, we don’t see that the people responsible for these advertisements are still primarily white behind the scenes.

The ad and PR industry must be more inclusive of who they hire. Like how in news media, when there is a lack of diverse voices, facts can be misinterpreted or even ignored in reporting; without input from minority voices, ads and messages to the public can lack social awareness. A company’s relationship with the public is everything, and when 23.7% of the U.S. population is made up of non-white and Hispanic individuals, according to the 2021 U.S. Census, understanding the minority perspective is essential. Additionally, 23.7% of the country only represents minorities. It does not represent every person who cares about issues of race or culture. The people who care about these issues will side with minorities when companies fail in representing minority communities. Therefore, companies need to hire diverse voices to understand what topics are sensitive, approach those topics without damaging their reputation, and set an excellent example for change in other companies.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, of 72 advertising and promotions managers, 78.7% were white, 12.1% African American, 5.2% Asian, and 6.2% Hispanic or Latino. With just that statistic alone, it is clear that the advertising industry has an issue. Even if companies are becoming more inclusive with entry-level positions, most management positions go to white people. A similar situation is present when it comes to public relations and fundraising managers. Again, 89.3% of management positions went to white people, while the remaining 10.7% went to African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, or Latinos.

Companies can be proud of their inclusive entry-level hiring quotas. However, the higher the work chain you go, the less inclusive it becomes. This practice presents an issue when companies have to deal with sensitive topics and either has no minority voices to listen to or have so few that they get drowned out by the white voices speaking over them..