presents:

An Examination of Factors Affecting the

Success of Under-represented Groups in

the Public Relations Profession

September 2015

Principal Investigators/Authors: Lynn Appelbaum, Professor, City College of New York Franklin Walton, Ph.D. Contributing Author: Erica Southerland, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Howard University

Research Support: Meredith Gilfeather, The Gilfeather Group Gazelle Global Research Edmund Balogun, M.P.S., City College of New York

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Made possible through a grant from the PRSA Foundation with special contribution recognition from Wells Fargo

The PRSA Foundation drives diversity within the industry of public relations through the

generous support of our PRIME Founding Sponsors:

• American Express

• Cox Enterprises

• The Coca-Cola Company

• Edelman

• FleishmanHillard

• GE

• Hill+Knowlton Strategies

• IBM

• Johnson & Johnson

• Ketchum

• Ogilvy

• Prudential

• Univision

• Weber Shandwick

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Introduction 5

Executive Summary 7

Methodology 13

1. Young Professionals on Careers in Public Relations 15

2. Young Professionals’ Experience Getting Started in Their Public Relations Careers 25

3. Young Professionals Anticipate Their Future Careers in Public Relations 36

Implications 49

Demographics 50

Bibliography 53

4

5

INTRODUCTION

The practice of public relations in the United States has undergone dramatic changes in the past 20 years in

response to the many ways in which information technology has changed how we communicate and how we do

business. As the PR industry adapts to these evolving changes, there are also significant on-going shifts in the

audiences we engage and in the professional marketplace of new practitioners. The US Census Bureau projects

that by 2020 36.5% of the US population will be comprised of Hispanics, African Americans, Asians and

Native Americans. (Hayes, 2013) Just as the industry must adapt to changing technologies, it must also respond

to changes in its audiences and talent pool. While the public relations industry has made some progress in

diversifying the demographics of PR professionals to reflect the profile of the nation and of many of the

nation’s leading industries, a more concerted effort is needed.

While some companies and public relations agencies reflect the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of the

overall population, both anecdotal experience and published research suggest an overall picture that is solidly

Caucasian and female. (The Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014, reported that 8.7% of people employed in public

relations were African American, and 10.5% were Hispanic. Women held 60% of public relations jobs across

all sectors.)

To advance the understanding of the demographic imbalance of historically underrepresented groups

- particularly African American and US Hispanic/Latino - in the public relations profession, the Public

Relations Society of America Foundation issued an RFP for a comprehensive national study. Along with the

imperative of achieving social equity as a self-evident value, building a demographic profile that reflects the

nation will be increasingly in the interest of public relations enterprises if they are to remain relevant in the 21st

century.

Several initiatives of the PRSA Foundation have included the sponsorship of research projects focused on

gaining greater insight into the personal experiences of non-white PR practitioners to inform and elevate the

understanding of managers and decision makers in public relations organizations nationwide. This project

provides one lens on the profession today, as experienced by young African American and Hispanic PR

practitioners who have recently entered the field (post-2008 economic downturn).

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This study, conducted by faculty from the Department of Media & Communication Arts at The City College of

New York over the course of 2014, addresses four major objectives:

Provide insights from qualitative and quantitative research on the recruitment and retention of bachelor’s

degree graduates from public relations programs and other related areas;

Analyze the recruitment, retention and promotion programs for under- represented groups in public

relations departments and public relations firms;

Offer insights into the experiences, challenges and opportunities of Hispanics and African Americans

who are working, or have worked, in public relations since 2008;

Provide recommendations for the PR profession to more effectively create a more multicultural

diversified workforce.

The study included conversations with leading PR practitioners and educators; focus groups with young

multicultural African American and US Hispanic PR practitioners; two separate national surveys, one of young

African American/ US Hispanic practitioners, and a second survey targeting employers who hire PR

practitioners. The companion survey addressed the perceptions of PR employers regarding multicultural

diversity. Two focus groups of young PR professionals in the same demographic group were conducted to

provide additional insights into their experiences, and are included in the report.

Survey respondents, both young professionals and employers, represent a national cross-section of professionals

who work in agencies, corporations, government/NGOs and not–for-profit organizations. This survey

additionally provides a 10-year benchmark of perceptions about multicultural diversity in the industry, updating

a 2004 survey that examined the experiences and perceptions of multicultural PR practitioners regarding

diversity within the industry and workplace. The 2004 survey was conducted by Dr. Rochelle Ford, Professor,

Chair, Newhouse School Public Relations Department, at Syracuse University; and Lynn Appelbaum,

Professor, The City College of New York, Department of Media & Communication Arts.

The PRSA Foundation, along with the research team, hopes that discussion of the findings of this project will

contribute to advancing the individual careers of young people in the PR field as well as the effectiveness and

integrity of the practice of the profession.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Young Professional Perspectives

The young Hispanic and African American public relations professionals who participated in this study are

generally positive about their work and careers in public relations. They are satisfied with their jobs and report

that senior management creates an environment that supports diversity; at the same time, they reveal continuing

concerns about shortcomings in diversifying the ranks of the public relations industry. Challenges persist

around retention and job satisfaction due to perceived micro-aggression and racial biases in the workplace.

Most of the survey respondents feel they can pursue success in their public relations careers without making

race or ethnicity an issue. Large majorities say that they have opportunities to work on projects that have no

direct relation to their ethnicity or identity, and most feel that they have opportunity for recognition in the

broader PR community.

A large majority of the survey respondents feel, in a variety of ways, that their ethnic backgrounds and cultures

are valued in the workplace as genuine assets to the organization. About half say that their personal identity in

itself is an asset. Only one in ten describe their racial or ethnic identity as a liability to success in their

organization.

These young people are not concerned about tribalism (minority young professionals don’t “stick together” too

much), and language or accent are not a liability. While about eight in ten do say that they consciously code-

switch (oscillate between their culture and mainstream culture), only about one-quarter also say that they have

had to disassociate themselves with their culture. The issue of cultural disassociation appears to be more of an

issue for African Americans, compared to Hispanics. Survey findings reinforce the importance for African

Americans to have role models and mentors (either in the workplace or outside), especially where retention is

concerned. Having mentors of the same ethnic group, whether professional or as peers, appears to be more

important for African Americans.

The great majority of these young Hispanic and African American professionals expect to continue to be

working in public relations five years into the future, and a large majority would recommend the career to other

young Hispanic and African American individuals. However, large numbers would also issue caveats to their

potential younger colleagues about challenges of working in the industry as a multi-cultural professional.

Barriers to Success

The workplace is not color-blind. Only about half of the survey respondents believe that their organization has

had success in diversifying its workplace. Seven in ten of the young professionals feel that they are

“representing” their racial and ethnic group whether they are experiencing a success or a shortcoming. About

four in ten of the respondents believe that they are not treated with genuine respect by their colleagues. A

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similar number believe that they have to be more qualified than a Caucasian employee in the same situation.

About one-third of the survey participants believe that they have had to spend longer times in entry-level

positions. And, finally, more than half say that they have not been afforded the same opportunities in the PR

field as their Caucasian counterparts.

Micro-aggression (brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether

intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward

people of color) in the workplace, even if apparently inadvertent, continues to be perceived as a prevalent issue

for many multicultural practitioners, especially for African Americans. Focus group participants identify a

variety of workplace behaviors that undermine an environment of inclusiveness.

Mentors and Supervisors Make a Difference

Most survey respondents emphasize the importance of having a great mentor starting in college and continuing

into the workplace, whether or not they are from the same ethnic group. The participants express value for

empathetic and professionally helpful mentors, but most report not getting the kind of support that they say is

so important. The dearth of mentors starts in college and continues into the workplace. Only about one-third say

that they had a college professor or advisor who was particularly helpful. Just one in ten had their first public

relations job in an organization that had an official program for helping young, minority professionals.

Significantly, the most important workplace mentors were supervisors, followed by peers. The survey revealed

that human resource professionals and programs provided little value to the respondents.

The young professionals in the study cited an immediate supervisor (minority or not) or a senior executive in

the organization (who was African American or Hispanic) as being the key factor in encouraging their

professional development, but only about half say they have had the benefit of such a relationship. A small

majority of the respondents, African Americans, in particular, appreciate having a “family feeling” in the

workplace with other professionals from their background.

Significantly, membership in professional organizations, whether they are mainstream or affinity groups, is

valued primarily for offering networking and professional development. Mentoring becomes more of a value

for affinity organizations like HPRA or BPRS.

Recruitment and Retention

Both employers and young professionals rate the industry equally in its recruitment efforts, with only about

45% from each category describing the industry as “somewhat successful” in reaching African Americans and

Hispanic practitioners.

However, employers have a more positive outlook, compared with African American and Hispanic young

professionals, that the PR industry has been successful in retaining a diverse workforce. Twenty five percent of

employers describe the industry as successful in this area, compared with only 17 percent of the young

professionals. Both groups, employers and young professionals, primarily rate the industry as “somewhat

successful.” Young professionals appear more negative about industry efforts, with 31% saying that the

industry is “not successful” in this area, compared with 20% of employers. Among employers, African

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American/Hispanic practitioners tend to be more pessimistic about diversity, compared with their Caucasian

counterparts.

Those respondents in the non-profit/ and government sectors are more likely to report success, compared with

those who work for agencies and corporations. Young professionals who work for smaller or mid-size agencies

report more success than those who work for the large firms.

Employer Perspectives

While employers are slightly more optimistic than young professionals regarding recruitment and retention,

reporting their own organizations as achieving “some success” in these areas, 43% and 52% respectively, they

feel that an African American or Hispanic senior executive is the most important factor (41%) in the

professional development of African American and Hispanic young professionals. The fact that there is only

moderate belief in the PR industry’s strengths in these areas may affect the numbers of African Americans and

Hispanics who can and will reach the senior executive level and become mentors. Employers do, however,

overwhelmingly (56%) feel their organizations treat African American and Hispanic young professions as an

asset or opportunity for the organization.

Employers (more than 50%) view specific knowledge regarding culture, ethnic neighborhoods, racial advocacy

organizations and ethnic media as a positive factor or quality among African American and Hispanic entry-level

PR employees. Membership in racial or ethnic PR organizations is seen as “valuable” or “very valuable” (65%)

by employers. They see the top three benefits of membership in these organizations as networking, mentoring

and professional support, respectively.

About 75% of employers have hired at least one African American or Hispanic young professional in the past

six years. Once hired, young professionals’ job tracks seem to vary greatly. Employers stated (53%) that

multicultural young professionals are “seldom” put on a slow moving track. However, almost an equal number

(46%) say that African American and Hispanic young professionals are “sometimes,” “often” or “frequently”

put on slow moving tracks.

Additionally, feedback from focus groups of young African American or Hispanic professionals indicates that

perceived micro-aggression in the workplace is not an infrequent occurrence. Many young professionals offer

anecdotes quoted throughout this document that provides a window into their workplace experiences, not

always positive.

While findings indicate that there is reason to feel guardedly optimistic that the PR industry has made some

progress in enhancing diversity among our ranks, there is a clear need for the PR industry to do better in both

recruiting and retaining multicultural professionals.

While young multicultural public relations professionals express strong satisfaction with their career choice as

well as industry strides, key challenges remain. These particularly include retention, mentoring and perceived

workplace biases, especially for African American practitioners.

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Implications for Senior PR Management

The PR industry appears to be on a productive path to recruit effort more multicultural professionals. However,

findings indicate that PR leaders could be more effective bolstering their initiatives in the following areas:

Focus on retention in the workplace, especially in the account group environment, to be more inclusive

and to build a sense of community that ensures all employees are supported, and are given the tools to

succeed on an even playing field;

Educate employees about possible micro-aggression and double standards in the workplace and how this

affects professionals with diverse backgrounds;

Facilitate one-on-one relationships with either peers or direct supervisors at the account level, especially

important for young multicultural professionals, to enable them to feel more included and supported

professionally.

Implications for the Public Relations Profession

The workplace is not “color blind.” It never will be. It should not be. Race and ethnicity should be

valued as potential assets in a young professional’s profile – but certainly not exclusive criteria. Young

professionals from diverse backgrounds should be encouraged to use their “identity” as an asset in their

professional development, without being constrained (“pigeon-holed”) by that identity.

Young professionals from diverse backgrounds – particularly African Americans – strongly suspect that

their career development has been held back because of racial/ethnic prejudice. While this current study

has no way to determine whether this impression is accurate or not, the fact is that the PR profession

needs to do better to 1) ensure there are no prejudicial patterns in career advancement, and 2) develop

clear professional guidelines and recommendations to help employers be more effective in the

recruitment and especially retention of young multicultural professionals.

Educating employees about micro-aggression in the workplace would appear to have benefits in

creating a more cohesive workplace culture.

There appears to be a significant opportunity for HR professionals who work in the PR industry to

become more engaged in helping to retain young professionals in the workplace by either playing a

more active role in mentorship, or by helping to facilitate mentorship among account teams that engage

and include multicultural professionals. At present, HR personnel appear to play a negligible role in

retention.

Mentoring, “modeling,” and HR programs designed to welcome and develop young professionals from

diverse backgrounds are rare – and urgently needed. If not offered in-house, there is opportunity for

organizations such as BPRS and HPRA to offer a more formal mentoring program and/or professional

development programming. As these organizations and subsequent networking channels are viewed as

highly valuable to the continued success of minority young professionals, organizational leadership may

want to develop new initiatives in this area.

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Young Hispanic and African American public relations professionals are mostly happy with their career

choices – but have misgivings that may be sending negative messages out to the next, younger

generation. How can the PR profession reduce these “misgivings”/doubts and reinforce the general

inclination to support the profession?

Diversity initiatives would appear to be more effective when employers invest less in formal “diversity

programs” and more on supporting employees to build a genuine connection with other employees that

makes them feel appreciated and welcome. The notion of “diversity programming” without an

understanding of why it’s being created and how it supports recruitment and retention does not move the

needle to sustain and enhance diversity.

Cultural appreciation and awareness must accompany equal opportunity.

Industry Suggestions from Young Professionals

Young pros in their own words in response to the question: “If you had to give your employer today some

advice that would help young professionals like you, what would you say?”

“Don’t look at yourself as being better just because you have a higher title than somebody you are above.”

“Be open to change.”

“Invest in your employees. Show them that you appreciate them. People are going to stay where they feel

appreciated, valued and not taken for granted.”

“Make a conscious effort to recruit diverse upper management like VP’s, AVP’s and other executives.”

“Challenging employees is important. We like to be able to push the limits [beyond menial tasks to show that]

we can bring more to the table.”

“Genuinely invest in diversity. Sometimes I get frustrated when I see firms that say they [value] diversity. But

then you look within that firm and you see that it’s because they only checked the boxes of what’s required to

say they are diverse.”

“I’d like to see more outreach to the community. For Latino people within my agency, I’d like to see my firm go

out to the community more. Bring kids from the high school in for a tour of the agency. Reach out to younger

people. Show kids they can do this.”

“It’s critical for people from our community [to have role models]. Growing up, I noticed that even in

internships other interns are like, ‘My dad’s in PR.’ We don’t have that kind of link to firms to inspire the

younger generation like other people have. .. Now we’re here, and we can inspire younger people.”

“Don’t wait for a six month review for new employees. I set up a meeting [with my supervisor] and wrote out

key points. Find out your employees’ aspirations and where they want to be in the business. Teach them the

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ropes and give them advice, even something like joining PRSA. It doesn’t have to be a long conversation, just

something simple and easy.”

“As a boss, you should be the gate keeper. You have to lead and show others the way. As a boss, you should

also be a student. Our generation is so tech savvy; we have something to teach our bosses.”

“Don’t feel like you have to treat a young professional of color with kid gloves. But don’t turn a blind eye to the

fact that this is a young professional of color. They have different needs, different concerns, and different

obstacles than everybody else in the office. Don’t assume that you see them the same way that you see

everybody else in the office, because it’s likely that you don’t.”

“Be checking yourself to see if you are giving this person (of color) a fair shot, if you’re giving them difficult

enough assignments, if you are giving them feedback that they need to be successful, and if you’re doing things

that can make them comfortable. Don’t check in with them, that’s weird. But check in with yourself.”

“My advice would be to have an open door policy. I think a lot of African American professionals right out of

college feel like, ‘Who could I talk to most who would want to hear me?’ They might not have even a family

member who they can speak to, so it’s important within the profession that they don’t fear their boss. Young

pros should respect their bosses and not fear them.”

“I’m glad the person hiring me was open and honest when she said, ‘You’re going to be the only black person

here, so just be mindful of that and read the room in your interview.’ I thought, ‘Why would you say that to

me?’ But I’m glad she was open and honest about the actual climate there. Because she was trying to tell me,

‘We’re trying to hire more people of color. There are no people of color here, so you’re going to be a shock

value to a lot of people in the room.’ I was taken aback, but a person needs to know what they’re signing

themselves up for, especially for retention purposes, because if I didn’t have a heads up about the climate, I’d

leave, and they wouldn’t know why.”

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METHODOLOGY

The study was conceived and planned in the autumn of 2013 by the principal investigators, Professor Lynn

Appelbaum of The City College of New York, and Franklin Walton, Ph.D. Following secondary research and

informal qualitative consultations with a broad spectrum of colleagues in the public relations field and in

academia, the principal investigators submitted the plan for the study for review by the City University of New

York Institutional Research Board. The study plan was approved by the City University of New York

Institutional Research Board on July 31, 2014, and implementation began immediately afterwards.

Secondary Research

A review of relevant secondary research was conducted by Edmund Balogun, a graduate student research

assistant at City College of New York in the Branding & Integrated Communications (BIC) program, and

reviewed by Professor Appelbaum and Dr. Walton. The secondary research informed the development of the

project.

Qualitative Research

Professor Appelbaum and Dr. Walton conducted in excess of a dozen informal, confidential interviews with

academics, college student advisors, public relations agency human resources executives, corporate executives,

executive search professionals, and recent graduates. The interviews were conducted during the course of late

2013 and the first half of 2014. The qualitative research provided guidance for developing the focus group

discussion guides and the survey.

Focus Groups

Two focus groups of young PR professionals were conducted on October 1 and October 2, 2014. Both focus

groups were conducted in New York City. Focus group participants were recruited through a variety of

personal contacts of the principal investigators. Participants were all recent graduates (2008 to the present) who

were currently full-time employed in public relations (or closely related communications field) and who self-

identified as either Hispanic and/or African American.

The focus groups were conducted by Dr. Walton. The location was the conference room of Finn Partners Public

Relations in midtown Manhattan. A total of eighteen young professionals participated in the two discussions.

The discussions were recorded and transcribed (with the identities of all participants kept anonymous). The

focus group results provided concepts to be tested in the survey. Participants each received $75 for their time.

Survey

Two separate surveys were posted on-line: one targeted young Hispanic and African American public relations

professionals who had entered the PR workforce since 2008; the second survey was geared towards employers

of young Hispanic and African American public relations professionals in agencies, corporations,

government/NGOs and not-for-profit agencies.

The questionnaire for the surveys was developed by the principal investigators, Professor Appelbaum and Dr.

Walton, with consultation from Ms. Meredith Gilfeather of The Gilfeather Group, Camden, Maine.

14

The sampling for the survey, designed by the principal investigators in consultation with Meredith Gilfeather,

was a nonprobability (convenience), chain-referral (“snowball”) sampling. Emails and postcards were

distributed seeking survey participants; the emails and postcards clearly identified the qualifications for

participation in the survey and provided a URL to participate in the survey. Recipients of the email or postcard

communication were also asked to “pass along” information about the survey to colleagues or others who also

met the criteria for survey participation. Emails and postcards were distributed to:

Public relations agencies and corporations that were noted for hiring young professionals from minority

backgrounds, as identified by Professor Appelbaum and Dr. Walton

Members of the Public Relations Society of America, through its own email membership list, and in-

person at the October 11-14, 2014 PRSA International Conference in Washington, DC

The Black Public Relations Society members, at their November 6-9, 2014 annual conference in Fort

Lauderdale, Florida.

Hispanic Public Relations Society members through membership emails

PRSSA chapters identified with HBCU colleges and universities

Arthur Page Society members via email

Professor and student advisors at college and universities, and professional PR industry contacts of

Professor Appelbaum and Dr. Walton

The survey was administered online through the services of Gazelle Global Research, of New York, New York.

The online survey launched on October 10, 2014 and closed on January 22, 2015. The online survey received

108 completions from young professionals and 111 completions from employers of young professionals. All

participants’ names were entered into a random drawing to receive $100 for completing the survey.

Data analysis and tabulations were provided by Gazelle Global Research under supervision and counsel of

Meredith Gilfeather of The Gilfeather Group.

Further cross-tabs and data analysis were conducted by Dr. Erica Southerland at Howard University. Using

SPSS and MarketSight software, reliability and validity were measured via Chi-Square and Factor Analysis. A

Factor Analysis was conducted using nominal survey variables on a 1-5 scale with a selection variable of 3 on

the survey variable addressing opinion of PR industry diversity recruitment. Results are valid based on a Chi-

Square of 63.487 at 15 degrees of freedom, based on generalized critical values for Chi-Square.

Descriptive statistics and validity testing were completed by researchers and consultants. An exploratory factor

analysis was conducted using ordinal survey variables on a 1-5 Likert scale with a selection variable of 3 on the

survey variable addressing opinion of PR industry diversity recruitment. Results were valid based on a Chi-

Square of 63.487 at 15 degrees of freedom, based on general critical values for Chi-Square.

KMO and Bartlett's Testa

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of

Sampling Adequacy. .631

a. Only cases for which How successful do you think the

PR industry is in recruiting a more diverse workforce? =

Somewhat successful are used in the analysis phase.

Bartlett's Test of

Sphericity

Approx. Chi-

Square 63.487

Df 15

Sig. .000

15

1. YOUNG PROFESSIONALS ON CAREERS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS Diversity in the Workplace

About one in three of the young Hispanic and African American public relations professionals surveyed work in

an organization noted for its expertise in communications to ethnic or racial minority markets. However, most

of the young professionals surveyed say that people of their racial and ethnic background comprise a small

percentage of the employees of the organization.

Does your place of employment have a recognized reputation, in your market, for its service offerings and/or expertise in communications to ethnic / racial minority markets (including Hispanic / Latino)?

Young

Professional

Yes 33

30.6%

No 75

69.4%

Total 108

100.0%

Which statement below is closest to the situation at your place employment?

Young

Professional

Male Female Hispanic African American

Fewer than 1 in 10 are of the same

ethnic / racial identity as yourself

68 14 54 24 46

63.0% 66.7% 62.1% 52.2% 71.9%

About one-quarter are of the same

ethnic / racial identity as yourself

21 2 19 11 10

19.4% 9.5% 21.8% 23.9% 15.6%

About half are of the same ethnic /

racial identity as yourself

9

8.3%

About three quarters or more are

of the same ethnic / racial identity

as yourself

10

9.3%

Total 108

100.0%

16

Would you say that your immediate work group (the people with whom you have daily interactions) is:

Young

Professional

More than 75% people of color 6

5.6%

50 - 75% people of color 14

13.0%

25 - 49% people of color 15

13.9%

Less than 25% people of color 73

67.6%

Total 108

100.0%

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Perceptions About Employer’s Recruitment and Retention

Overall, more than half of the young Hispanic and African American professionals surveyed say that their

organization has had “some” or “great” success in recruiting a more diverse workforce. However, those

respondents employed in the Non-profit/Government sector are more likely to see such successes than are the

respondents employed by agencies and corporations. Hispanic young professionals are more likely to say that

efforts to recruit more diverse entry-level professionals have been a great success African American young

professionals, on the other hand, are more likely to report their organization made efforts to recruit diversity, yet

had not been very successful.

Surveyed employers reported success in recruiting a diverse work force at a similar frequency. However, when

the young professionals and the employers were asked about their organizations’ success in retaining a more

diverse workforce, the young professionals were much less likely (49% reporting great or some success) than

the employers (69% reporting great or some success) to perceive success in sustaining a diverse workplace.

Employers who identify themselves as being African American are less likely to report that their organizations

have efforts to retain a diverse workforce, and when they do, they report less success in retaining diverse

employees.

How would you describe your organization’s hiring practices to recruit a more diverse workforce?

Young

Professional

Agency Corporation Non-profit /

government

Great success 20 9 3 8

18.5% 16.1 12.5 28.6

Some success 35 16 8 11

32.4% 28.6 33.3 39.3

Effort, but little success 22 10 7 5

20.4% 17.9 29.2 17.9

No effort 13 10 2 1

12.0% 17.9 8.3 3.6

All talk 7 5 1 1

6.5% 8.9 4.2 3.6

I don't know 11 6 3 2

10.2% 10.7 12.5 7.1

Total 108 56 24 28

100.0%

18

How would you describe your organization’s hiring practices to recruit a more diverse workforce?

How would you describe your organization’s hiring practices to recruit a more diverse workforce?

Employer

Great success 15

13.5%

Some success 48

43.2%

Effort, but little success 30

27.0%

No effort 11

9.9%

All talk 3

2.7%

I don’t know 4

3.6%

Total 111

100.0%

Young

Professional

Hispanic African American

Great success 20 13 7

18.5% 28.3 10.9

Some success 35 11 25

32.4% 23.9 39.1

Effort, but little success 22 5 17

20.4% 10.9 26.6

No effort 13 9 5

12.0% 19.6 7.8

All talk 7 1 6

6.5% 2.2 9.4

I don't know 11 7 4

10.2% 15.2 6.3

Total 108 46 64

100.0%

19

How would you describe your organization’s efforts and policies in retaining a diverse workforce?

Young

Professional

Great success 17

15.7%

Some success 36

33.3%

Effort, but little success 20

18.5%

No effort 13

12.0%

All talk 9

8.3%

I don't know 13

12.0%

Total 108

100.0%

How would you describe your organization’s efforts and policies in retaining a diverse workforce?

Employer

Hispanic African

American

Neither Hispanic nor

African American

Great success 19 24 3 12

17.1% 16.7 9.4 21.1

Some success 58 11 15 33

52.3% 45.8 46.9 57.9

Effort, but little success 14 3 4 8

12.6% 12.5 12.5 14

No effort 11 3 6 2

9.9% 12.5 18.8 3.5

All talk 4 2 2 0

3.6% 8.3 6.3 0

I don’t know 5 1 2 2

4.5% 4.2 6.3 3.5

Total 111 24 32 57

100.0%

20

Job Satisfaction

About two-thirds of the young professionals surveyed report that they feel satisfied with their job. Large

majorities say that they are just as likely to work on mainstream projects as on projects related to ethic markets,

to work on projects that receive public attention, and to work routinely with people from other ethnic

backgrounds.

About eight in ten of the young professionals say that they are willing oscillate between their culture and

mainstream culture. However, only about one in ten feel that their language or accent has been a barrier to

success in their career.

In this series of questions, a pattern of difference begins to appear between the men’s and women’s experience

in their work. The women are more likely to report satisfaction with their job, more likely to regularly work

with Caucasian fellow workers, and more likely to say they oscillate between their ethnic culture and

mainstream culture.

Now we’d like to shift the focus to your current position in PR (or a related field). Please indicate your level of agreement with the following items on a scale of 1 to 5.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree NA Total

1 2 3 4 5

Currently, I…

Feel satisfied with my job, all things considered

8 8 23 47 22 - 108

7.4% 7.4% 21.3% 43.5% 20.4% - 100.0%

Am just as likely to be given mainstream projects as I am to work on projects related to ethnic publics or organizations

3 7 17 36 40 5 108

2.8% 6.5% 15.7% 33.3% 37.0% 4.6% 100.0%

Work on projects that receive a lot of attention with publics outside of my organization

3 10 11 37 44 3 108

2.8% 9.3% 10.2% 34.3% 40.7% 2.8% 100.0%

Frequently interact professionally with professionals outside my ethnic group

2 1 4 34 67 - 108

1.9% .9% 3.7% 31.5% 62.0% -

100.0%

Am willing to oscillate between my culture and another to work in public relations

4 3 12 43 43 3 108

3.7% 2.8% 11.1% 39.8% 39.8% 2.8% 100.0%

Frequently interact socially with Caucasian Americans

4 6 7 32 59 - 108

3.7% 5.6% 6.5% 29.6% 54.6% - 100.0%

Feel my language/accent has been a barrier to my success in my career

44 28 13 6 6 11 108

40.7% 25.9% 12.0% 5.6% 5.6% 10.2% 100.0%

21

Strongly Agree Male Female

Currently, I…

Feel satisfied with my job, all things considered

22 2 20

20.4% 9.5% 23%

Am just as likely to be given mainstream projects as I am to work on projects related to ethnic publics or organizations

40 9 31

37.0% 42.9% 35.6%

Work on projects that receive a lot of attention with publics outside of my organization

44 9 33

40.7% 42.9% 40.2%

Frequently interact professionally with professionals outside my ethnic group

67 8 59

62.0% 42.9% 40%

Am willing to oscillate between my culture and another to work in public relations

43 6 37

39.8% 28.6% 42.5%

Frequently interact socially with Caucasian Americans

59 8 51

54.6% 38.1% 58.6%

Young Professionals in Their Own Words:

“I work for a Hispanic video company. The current CEO and COO are not Hispanic, yet they have a full understanding of

what the Hispanic market is like, even more than I do, (as an Hispanic). I don’t feel like you have to be part of the culture

to understand it. It’s more about putting in the effort and work to understand what the market is asking for.”

“I see firms adding multicultural departments and hiring Hispanic firms to service their Hispanic accounts. It’s like

saying ‘we’re white, so we can’t understand that market.’ We should all work together. We’re separated one side of the

office because we’re Hispanic or African American, and their office is another side. We’re not collaborating. Some teams

actually come to ask us questions, but we predominately work by ourselves. We’re building more opportunities for

Hispanics and African Americans (in the PR workplace), but we’re not working together.”

“Some businesses say they have a diversity initiative and they’re trying to incorporate tolerance (into the workplace). I’ve

had friends who’ve called having nervous breakdowns in the bathroom saying I’ can’t stay at this agency.’ And they quit

their jobs because the culture within the office made them feel isolated.”

22

Perceptions About Race in the Workplace

Only about one in six says that they cannot pursue their career without making race or ethnicity an issue. Only

about one in ten says their contributions are valued less when the contributions are not directly relevant to an

ethnic topic. Few of the survey respondents say that African American and Hispanic employees “stick together

too much” in the organization.

Less than half of the young professionals report that they have had at least one mentor who helped them

personally deal with issues related to being Hispanic and/or African American in a communications field. Men

and African Americans are somewhat more likely to report having had such a mentor.

About six in ten say that they have a feeling of family with other young professionals with the same racial or

ethnic backgrounds. However, this sense of a “family feeling” is more prevalent among women than men, and

more so among Hispanics than African American.

At the same time, about seven in ten say they have a sense that they are “representing” their race in both their

successes and shortcomings. Women and African American are more likely to express this sense of

“representing” their race or ethnicity in the workplace.

Young Professionals in Their Own Words: “I went to a diversity and inclusion event for (my company) and there were people of color and Caucasians, but it felt

kind of forced. You can’t expect diversity and inclusion to happen during a nine to five context. You really have to make

time outside of work to really understand people and different cultures to be included.”

“Diversity in the workplace is really set by the culture that’s created by the company itself. I can’t stop people from being

racist because I wear my clothes in a certain way, or I act a certain way. It’s not my problem. It’s somebody else’s

problem.”

“You don’t want to feel like you’re forcing yourself on to someone. It doesn’t feel like you’re being received well when

you do that. It’s either that you’re quiet and you’re too withdrawn, or you’re forward and happy, and you come off as

abrasive. Where’s the balance between communicating who you are versus what people want to associate themselves

with?”

“For most of my nine to five working life, I can never forget that what I look like. My ethnicity is always going to be

somewhat of a hindrance.”

“I am the only African American woman on my beauty team among a Caucasian staff. So I am always

asked, “What do you think? Do minority women wear (a specific brand of makeup)? At first I was like, 'Oh it’s good to

get that insight because brands don’t connect with minority women.’ But then I felt, it’s a diverse team, they could have

gotten insights from a lot of people.”

“Even if other people forget that I’m black in their conscious mind, they still do things like leaving boxes for me to

unpack even though that’s everybody’s job. It’s the small things like that that happen on a regular basis at

almost every job I’ve ever had with a few exceptions.”

“Imagine walking into a crowd and someone’s telling a joke and they say ’what’s the name of that black

comedian’? And then you realize that everyone is looking at you for the answer.”

“We were hiring, looking specifically for African American and Hispanic models. One of the producers said, ‘We’re

going to have to beef up security!’ I thought WHAT?”

23

Please indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with each of the statements below, using a scale of 1 to 5.

Strongly Disagree

1 Disagree

2 Neutral

3 Agree

4

Strongly Agree

5 NA Total

I have had at least one mentor in my work life who has helped me deal with issues related to being a Black or Hispanic professional in the PR / communications field

23 25 8 24 24 4 108

21.3% 23.1% 7.4% 22.2% 22.2% 3.7% 100.0%

I feel that I am perceived to “represent” my race or ethnicity – whether I excel or have a shortcoming

9 15 18 38 28 - 108

8.3% 13.9% 16.7% 35.2% 25.9% - 100.0%

I plan and pursue my business and career networking, in- and outside my place of employment, to meet other professionals in my industry who share my race or ethnicity

5 20 26 35 19 3 108

4.6% 18.5% 24.1% 32.4% 17.6% 2.8% 100.0%

I am concerned that networking with too many people who share my race/ethnicity will lead employers and managers to focus on my minority status more than my professional profile

16 29 19 29 14 1 108

14.8% 26.9% 17.6% 26.9% 13.0% .9% 100.0%

I actively seek out Black and Hispanic professionals in my industry on social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.

12 30 20 25 17 4 108

11.1% 27.8% 18.5% 23.1% 15.7% 3.7% 100.0%

I can pursue my work and career without making race an issue – one way or another

3 15 21 34 33 2 108

2.8% 13.9% 19.4% 31.5% 30.6% 1.9% 100.0%

The perspectives that I can bring to a PR or communications project are not valued when the content is not specifically focused on an audience that shares my race or ethnicity

33 35 13 14 10 3 108

30.6% 32.4% 12.0% 13.0% 9.3% 2.8% 100.0%

My employer is more concerned about having Black and Hispanic consumers than they are about having Black and Hispanic employees

39 18 20 16 9 6 108

36.1% 16.7% 18.5% 14.8% 8.3% 5.6% 100.0%

The Black and Hispanic employees in my organization stick together too much – to the extent that they get even more excluded from situations

32 32 19 11 4 10 108

29.6% 29.6% 17.6% 10.2% 3.7% 9.3% 100.0%

I have a “family feeling” (sisterhood / brotherhood feeling) with other young people in my industry who share my race or ethnicity

6 13 22 37 28 2 108

5.6% 12.0% 20.4% 34.3% 25.9% 1.9% 100.0%

Young Professionals in Their Own Words:

“My bosses were shocked that I was connecting with so many high level professionals. I said, ‘If you took time to get to know

me and understand my strength and creativity, I could impact this department. I think they put me in a box maybe because I’m

African American.”

“I have not felt valued at work, especially at the entry level. I don’t want to say this is because I’m black, but you start to notice

that there are just certain events that you just won’t be able to go to.”

“My boss is not my mentor. She’ll tell my colleagues how she wants things done, but why won’t she show me that? If

everyone’s in the same department, we’re growing together, we’re moving together. It shouldn’t be segregated to (exclude)

only one person.”

“I have volunteered to be the person to take notes at every single meeting I attend. So over time people have begun to value my

opinion more because I started recording the discussions. I realize that this was a way that I was adding value, by coming in

through the back door by having recorded information that other people forgot or never gathered in the first place. Now I get

invited to meetings to take notes, and that’s where the start of a lot of work proposals come from.”

24

Total Strongly Agree

Male Female Hispanic African American

I feel that I am perceived to “represent” my race or ethnicity – whether I excel or have a shortcoming

28 25.9%

3 14.3%

25 28.7%

6 13%

23 35.9%

Total Strongly Agree

and Agree

I have a “family feeling” (sisterhood / brotherhood feeling) with other young people in my industry who share my race or ethnicity

65 60.2%

11 52.4%

54 62.1%

54 52.2%

40 62.5%

I plan and pursue my business and career networking in- and outside my place of employment, to meet other professionals in my industry who share my race or ethnicity

54 50%

9 42.9%

45 51.7%

20 43.5%

36 56.3%

I have had at least one mentor in my work life who has helped me deal with issues related to being a Black or Hispanic professional in the PR / communications field

48 44.4%

11 52.4%

37 42.5%

15 32.6%

34 53.1%

Percentages are based on the total respondents in the category represented by the column, not to total respondents. For

example, in the first row, second column, 3 males were 14.3% of 21 total males, not of 28 total respondents who strongly agreed.

Young Professionals in Their Own Words:

“Being the butt of a joke from another black person still pales in comparison to being invisible or underestimated, and

just shut out in the workplace.”

“It works double against you if you’re black and get drunk at the holiday party, even if everyone else is. It just doesn’t

look good.”

“I don’t want to miss out (of social gatherings after work), because that’s when the networking happens and the projects

get handed out outside of work. It pays to be cognizant who you spend time with outside of work.”

“You can feel the isolation being with the minorities in the room. I’ve experienced almost the opposite end of the

spectrum-- where you have colleagues that are trying to be like you, in the know, or too hip, and trying to be your brother.

So that’s kind of what’s frustrating to me because I don’t want to be perceived (only) as an African American man among

Caucasian colleagues.”

25

2. YOUNG PROFESSIONALS’ EXPERIENCE GETTING STARTED IN

THEIR PUBLIC RELATIONS CAREERS

Higher Education

About three-quarters of the survey respondents had an undergraduate major in communications (slightly over

half of the survey respondents had an undergraduate major in public relations).

As an undergraduate student, was your major field of study one or two of the following? Select one or two.

First Mention Second Mention

Public Relations 58 -

53.7% -

Advertising 2 5

1.9% 12.5%

Mass Communications 19 10

17.6% 25.0%

Journalism 6 16

5.6% 40.0%

Media Production (film/video-making;

broadcast production; photography)

- 2

- 5.0%

Other (specify) 23 7

21.3% 17.5%

Total 108 40

100.0% 100.0%

26

Other mentions

Young

Professional

Young

Professional

Art History 1 Integrated Marketing Communication 1

.9% .9%

Arts 1 International Relations/Spanish 1

.9% .9%

Business 2 Marketing 2

1.9% 1.9%

Business Administration 1 Political Science 1

.9% .9%

Communication Studies 1 Psychology 1

.9% .9%

Corporate Communications 1 Psychology and Criminal Justice 1

.9% .9%

Economics 2 Sociology 2

1.9% 1.9%

English 5 Spanish 1

4.6% .9%

English Literature 1 Technical Communications 1

.9% .9%

Event Management 1 Marketing 1

.9% .9%

Healthcare 1 public affairs 1

.9% .9%

27

Mentors: College

In focus groups, young professionals acknowledge the value of faculty as mentors. However, only about one in

three of the young professionals in this survey report that they had a faculty member or advisor who understood

their needs as an African American or Hispanic aspiring PR professional. Somewhat more men and African

Americans were likely to report having such a relationship (in a pattern similar to reports of having a mentor in

the workplace). Many young professionals are now using social media and LinkedIn to find professionals to

serve as mentors.

As an undergraduate student, did you have a faculty member or advisor who understood your needs as a person of color seeking a career in PR or a related field?

Young

Professional

Male Female Hispanic African American

Yes 39 9 30 13 26

36.1% 42.9% 34.5% 28.3% 40.6%

No 55 9 46 24 32

50.9% 42.9% 52.9% 52.2% 50%

Not sure 14 3 11 9 6

13.0% 14.3% 12.8% 19.6% 9.4%

Total 108 21 87 46 64

100.0%

Young Professionals in Their Own Words:

“I think my best mentor actually to this day is my college professor. I talk to her all the time. She’ll take time to talk with

me and refers me to people to help me network. I would say college professors are very helpful.”

“I’m big on social media so I’m always meeting people on Twitter and then meet up in real life, so I make a lot of great

connections on social media. I got an internship through tweeting and have developed some good friendships.”

“It’s pretty easy to find mentors on Twitter chats, even through PRSSA. I also found mentors through my sorority.”

“I found my best mentors though my alumni network. And personal networks of friends of friends. I go outside the

workplace and looking for people who can be supportive.”

“I’ve networked through some really wonderful organizations, like Color Comm. I got great support.”

“I think one of the best places to find a mentor is LinkedIn. Before you know it, you’ve developed a relationship with

people even if you’ve never physically met them. But they have advice and knowledge to share.”

28

Mentors: First Job Out of College

Only one in ten of the young professionals surveyed secured their first job at an organization that had an official

program for mentoring and assisting young African American or Hispanic professionals. In focus groups,

young professionals mentioned workplace diversity inclusion programs which could allow for additional

mentoring, but many experienced these programs as an artificial environment offering no clear value in

facilitating mentoring. African American survey respondents were less likely to report that their first employer

had an organized program focused on professional development of young diverse professionals.

The young professionals who went to work in a communications agency for their first post-graduation job were

more likely to report that they had a senior colleague who had the specific responsibility of responding to their

needs as aspiring professionals, but only one in five of those senior colleagues were themselves African

American or Hispanic.

Please think back to your first public relations (or related field) job after college. In this position, did you have a senior colleague who had specific responsibility for responding to your needs and/or challenges as an aspiring professional communicator? (For example, mentoring, advising on career path, etc.)

Still thinking about your first public relations (or related field) job after college... In this position, did you have a senior colleague who had specific responsibility for responding to your needs and/or challenges as an aspiring professional communicator who is black or Hispanic?

Young

Professional

Yes 20

18.5%

No 86

79.6%

Not sure 2

1.9%

Total 108

100.0%

Young

Professional

Agency Corporation Non-profit /

Government

Yes 58 35 11 12

53.7% 62.5 45.8 42.9

No 45 18 12 15

41.7% 32.1 50 53.6

Not sure 5 3 1 1

4.6% 5.4 4.2 3.6

Total 108 56 24 28

100.0%

29

Still thinking about your first public relations (or related field) job after college... Did your employer organization have an organized program of professional development specifically designed to respond to your needs and/or challenges of junior employees who are black or Hispanic?

Young

Professional

Hispanic African American

Yes 9 5 4

8.3% 10.9 6.3

No 94 37 59

87.0% 80.4 92.2

Not sure 5 4 1

4.6% 8.7 1.6

Total 108 46 64

100.0%

Young Professionals in Their Own Words:

“In my first internship, I was the only black person and there was a Hispanic secretary. I reached out to other

executives to mentor me, but no one seemed like they wanted to help or teach me. So my first mentor ended up being

the secretary who didn’t know PR, but she just helped me to be a minority in the corporate world.”

“I have been in many situations where I received a lot of pushback when I wanted not necessarily mentorship, but some

type of guidance or more challenging work to move forward. Most of us would agree that just because somebody is your

boss does not mean they owe you anything, or care about you. You have to take responsibility for that yourself because

they’re worried about their own stuff.”

30

Mentorship in the Workplace

About one in five survey respondents felt that the most important factor in encouraging professional

development in the first job is:

A senior executive in the department who is African American or Hispanic

An immediate supervisor who is also African American or Hispanic

An immediate supervisor who is not African American or Hispanic

A peer in the organization is African American or Hispanic

Human resources department executives were not cited with any frequency as having been important in

encouraging the professional development of the young professionals in this study or in the employers study.

Significantly, HR professionals were only cited as playing a valuable role in retention if they were African

American or Hispanic. Neither young professionals nor employers cited HR professionals as being an important

in the success of diversity in the workplace. The crucial interactions that can either foster or inhibit diversity in

the workplace appear to hinge on the account side.

Still thinking about your first public relations (or related field) job after college... Which (if any) one of the following would you say was the most important factor in encouraging your professional development?

Young

Professional

An immediate supervisor in the public relations/communications work who

is ALSO Black or Hispanic

22

20.4%

An immediate supervisor in the public relations/communications work who

is NOT Black or Hispanic

22

20.4%

A senior executive in the employee’s team / department in the public

relations/communications work who is ALSO Black or

21

19.4%

A senior executive in the employee’s team / department in the public

relations/communications work who is NOT Black or Hispanic

7

6.5%

A human resources department executive who is ALSO Black or Hispanic 6

5.6%

A human resources department executive who is NOT Black or Hispanic 1

.9%

A peer (same level) colleague who is ALSO Black or Hispanic 22

20.4%

A peer (same level) colleague who is NOT Black or Hispanic 7

6.5%

Total 108

100.0%

31

Young Professionals in Their Own Words:

“When I worked for a museum, they kind of forced you to have sessions with human resources and thought that was like a

mentorship. The HR pros would say, ‘What would you like to tell me?’ That’s not mentoring me. So I got close with the

AVP of Business Development, which is how I got a promotion. He was happy to share his knowledge and helped to

connect me with more senior people who could tell me how they got there. For me, a mentor is not someone that I want to

share my life story with, It’s more like, ‘Hey, can you help me get where you are today?’

Very few of the young professionals in the survey (one in ten or fewer) felt that their racial or ethnic identity

was perceived as a liability in the organization in which they had their first job. About half of the survey

respondents felt that their racial or ethnic identity had been perceived as an asset to the organization.

Still thinking about your first public relations (or related field) job after college... How do you believe the organization, your initial supervisor, and your peers perceived your racial/ethnic identity in terms of value to the organization?

Organization/supervisor/peers initially perceived my racial/ethnic identity as…

An asset /

opportunity for the employing

organization

A matter of indifference

(neutrality) for the employing

organization

A liability / difficulty for the employing

organization Total

The employer organization as a whole/generally

50 55 3 108

46.3% 50.9% 2.8% 100.0%

My immediate supervisor in my first professional employment position in public relations (or a related field)

46 59 3 108

42.6% 54.6% 2.8% 100.0%

My immediate peers (equal/similar status) in the employer organization

33 66 9 108

30.6% 61.1% 8.3% 100.0%

Young Professionals in Their Own Words:

“All three of my mentors are Caucasian women. As women, they understand the old issues the industry has dealt with for

many years. I can go to them not matter what it is and they give me good advice.”

“I worked for a large agency. My second day, I realized that the VP on my team was African American. He kept tabs on

me and would give me opportunities to go to Capitol Hill and work on special projects with him. I went to DC and felt

left out because a lot of black professionals are a bit more stuffy there and I didn’t want to reach out. But I learned that

there are ways of reaching out in the workplace where you are a minority and you’re dealing with a different hierarchy.

When it comes to black mentorship in the workplace it’s encouraging. At the same time it’s sad because you see a bit of

the jealousy and insecurity of other races when they see you are being mentored.”

“Mentorship is a double edged sword. When you’re in school, everyone says, ‘Get a mentor.’ So you find yourself

walking up to everyone, like ’Would you be my mentor?’ Some of my best mentor experiences were with white men. The

thing is that finding a mentor is engrained early one, but no one gives you a handle on how to go about it. One of my

mentors is a black female who doesn’t work in the (PR) industry. It’s been one of the best experiences. So sometimes

people have to open themselves up and step outside that box.”

“Three out of four of my mentors were African American, a man and two women. We work hard just like everyone else,

But there’s an unspoken common ground that we had to work just a little bit harder. We’re all fighting the same fight.”

32

“Finding a black or Hispanic mentor, someone that you can relate to is amazing and wonderful. But I also think it’s good

to find someone who doesn’t look like you to gain perspective. Especially working in the PR industry, you have to have

understood different perspectives. So, I think it’s good to have both.”

“I wanted an African American mentor because I realized through my interactions with a lot of the white staff that they

didn’t treat me like I deserved to be there. I didn’t want a mentor who took pity on me or tried to dumb things down.

That’s why I wanted someone who could relate to me and could actually inspire me. The barrier of unconscious racism is

a bigger risk when you have a mentor who doesn’t share your same background.”

About seven in ten of the respondents report a variety of ways in which their racial or ethnic identities were

perceived as positive factors in their first job in professional public relations. This perception of identity as an

asset was a little more pronounced among Hispanics in relation to familiarity with ethnic media, markets, and

communities.

Still thinking about your first public relations (or related field) job after college... How did you perceive your racial/ethnic identity as a factor in your experience?

I perceived my racial/ethnic identity to be…

A positive

factor

A neutral factor (made no difference)

A negative factor Don’t know Total

Identifying lapses (deficiencies) in public relations campaigns or tactics for failure to see opportunities or threats related to ethnic / racial audiences

73 27 1 7 108

67.6% 25.0% .9% 6.5% 100.0%

Being sensitive to how “outsiders” (of any kind) from mainstream audiences might be responsive to a public relations campaign or tactic

70 30 2 6 108

64.8% 27.8% 1.9% 5.6% 100.0%

Specific cultural knowledge (for example: music, cuisine, fashion generally associated with your ethnic / racial group)

72 27 2 7 108

66.7% 25.0% 1.9% 6.5% 100.0%

Specific knowledge and experience with ethnic / racial neighborhoods and geographic communities

64 35 2 7 108

59.3% 32.4% 1.9% 6.5% 100.0%

Specific knowledge and experience with ethnic / racial advocacy or interest organizations (local, regional, or national)

74 29 1 4 108

68.5% 26.9% .9% 3.7% 100.0%

Familiarity with media outlets (publications, websites, blogs, social media, broadcast or cable channels) with ethnic / racially-dominant demographics

70 33 1 4 108

64.8% 30.6% .9% 3.7% 100.0%

Total who say “A positive factor”

Hispanic African American

Familiarity with media outlets (publications, websites, blogs, social media, broadcast or cable channels) with ethnic / racially-dominant demographics

70 64.8%

35 76.1%

37 57.8%

Specific knowledge and experience with ethnic / racial neighborhoods and geographic communities

64 59.3%

32 69.6%

33 51.6%

33

Career Satisfaction:

Young professionals express strong satisfaction with their careers, but they have some reservations.

About four in ten of the young professionals in the sample say they are not treated with genuine respect by their

colleagues. Their experiences were detailed in the focus groups, where they talked about a variety of

circumstances in which they felt marginalized or treated unfairly because of their ethnicity compared to their

white counterparts. A similar percentage believe they have to be more qualified than a Caucasian in the same

situation, and about one-third believe that they had to spend longer in an entry level position (this response is

particularly strong among the African American respondents).

About six in ten of the respondents also say that they have not been afforded the same opportunities in the PR

field as their Caucasian counterparts. One in four says they have had to dissociate themselves from their culture

-- a response more prevalent among African Americans (32.8%) as compared to Hispanics (19.6%).

Now thinking about your career as a whole… please choose all statements with which you agree. Because of my race/ethnicity, in my public relations experience . . .

No Yes Total

I have been treated unfairly by one or more of my current or past employers

84 24 108

77.8% 22.2% 100.0%

I have been overlooked for promotion 84 24 108

77.8% 22.2% 100.0%

I have not been awarded pay/salary increase 83 25 108

76.9% 23.1% 100.0%

I have had to spend more time in an entry-level position

72 36 108

66.7% 33.3% 100.0%

I have had to get extra formal training to be promoted

94 14 108

87.0% 13.0% 100.0%

I have had to be more qualified than a Caucasian American

59 49 108

54.6% 45.4% 100.0%

I have had to disassociate myself from my culture 79 29 108

73.1% 26.9% 100.0%

I am afforded the same opportunities in the PR field as Caucasian counterparts

60 48 108

55.6% 44.4% 100.0%

I am treated with genuine respect by my colleagues 46 62 108

42.6% 57.4% 100.0%

34

Now thinking about your career as a whole… please choose all statements with which you agree.

Because of my race/ethnicity, in my public relations experience . . .

Yes

Male Female Hispanic African American

I have been treated unfairly by one or more of my current or past employers

24 3 21 7 17

22.2% 14.3% 24.1% 15.2% 26.6%

I have been overlooked for promotion 24 6 18 8 16

22.2% 28.6% 20.7% 17.4% 25%

I have not been awarded pay/salary increase 25 5 20 8 17

23.1% 23.8% 23% 17.4% 26.6%

I have had to spend more time in an entry-level position

36 5 31 10 26

33.3% 23.8% 35.6% 21.7% 40.6%

I have had to get extra formal training to be promoted

14 6 8 1 13

13.0% 28.6% 9.2% 2.2% 20.3%

I have had to be more qualified than a Caucasian American

49 8 41 14 36

45.4% 38.1% 47.1% 30.4% 56.3%

I have had to disassociate myself from my culture 29 5 24 9 21

26.9% 23.8% 27.6% 19.6% 32.8%

I am afforded the same opportunities in the PR field as Caucasian counterparts

48 9 39 23 26

44.4% 42.9% 44.8% 50% 40.6%

I am treated with genuine respect by my colleagues 62 13 49 32 32

57.4% 61.9% 56.3% 69.6% 50%

35

Race in Professional Identity

Young practitioners as a rule do not hide their race on their resume for a job search. In fact, about six in ten of

the respondents report that they intentionally highlight professional affiliations and/or extracurricular activities

that are associated with a racial or ethnic group. About one in four says that they have deliberately excluded

noting such an affiliation.

On your professional (job-search) resume, have you ever excluded (intentionally not included) any affiliation or

extracurricular activity that was directly associated with a minority or racial group identity?

Young

Professional

Yes 26

24.1%

No 82

75.9%

Total 108

100.0%

On your professional (job-search) resume, do you include (intentionally mention) any affiliation or extracurricular

activity that was directly associated with a minority or racial group identity?

Young

Professional

Yes 62

57.4%

No 46

42.6%

Total 108

100.0%

36

3. YOUNG PROFESSIONALS LOOK FORWARD TO THEIR FUTURE

CAREERS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

Perceptions about Recruitment and Retention

Both the young professionals in this study and employers of young professionals have a similar assessment of

the success of the public relations industry in recruiting a more diverse workforce—the industry is falling short

of what it needs to be doing to promote diversity in the workplace.

Five out of six survey respondents, among both young professionals and employers of young professionals,

think that the PR industry has not demonstrated much success in recruiting a diverse workplace.

Only about one in six respondents of each sample think that the PR industry has been successful or very

successful. Most respondents were in the middle ground, affirming that the industry has been ‘somewhat

successful’, but without enough significant change to be called successful.

Young Professionals: How successful do you think the PR industry is in recruiting a more diverse workforce?

Young

Professional

Male Female

Very successful 4 1 3

3.7% 4.8% 3.4%

Successful 14 2 12

13.0% 9.5% 13.8%

Somewhat successful 46 5 41

42.6% 23.8% 47.1%

Not successful 44 13 31

40.7% 61.9% 35.6%

Total 108 21 87

100.0%

37

Same question asked to employers

Employers: How successful do you think the PR industry is in recruiting a more diverse workforce?

Employer

Very successful 6

5.4%

Successful 15

13.5%

Somewhat successful 49

44.1%

Not successful 41

36.9%

Total 111

100.0%

38

Perception of Industry Initiatives to Promote Diversity

Employers of young African American and Hispanic public relations professionals are slightly more likely to

report that they think that the public relations industry has been successful in retaining diversity in the

workforce. (See Employer section for more insights)

Young Professionals: How successful do you think the PR industry is in retaining a more diverse workforce?

Young

Professional

Male Female

Very successful 6 1 5

5.6% 4.9% 5.7%

Successful 12 2 10

11.1% 9.5% 11.5%

Somewhat successful 54 9 45

50.0% 42.9% 51.7%

Not successful 36 9 27

33.3% 42.9% 31%

Total 108 21 87

100.0%

Same question asked to employers.

Employers: How successful do you think the PR industry is in retaining a more diverse workforce?

Employer

Very successful 8

7.2%

Successful 20

18.0%

Somewhat successful 60

54.1%

Not successful 23

20.7%

Total 111

100.0%

39

Job Satisfaction

Despite the challenges they face, the young professionals in the survey overwhelmingly report that their

experience of working in professional public relations has been satisfying. Men are slightly more likely to say

that their experience has been very satisfying. Importantly, only 7% describe their experience as dissatisfying.

Overall, has your experience working in professional public relations (or closely related field) been:

Young

Professional

Male Female

Very satisfying 41 10 31

38.0% 47.6 35.6

Somewhat satisfying 59 10 49

54.6% 47.6 56.3

Somewhat dissatisfying 7 0 7

6.5% 0 8

Very dissatisfying 1 1 0

.9% 4.8 0

Total 108 21 87

100.0%

Young Professionals in Their Own Words:

“PR is a stressful industry. What keeps me going is having the reassurance that I know my team has my back one hundred

percent.”

“On my best days, if I do really great client work, it’s nice to get that recognition.”

“I think if there were more opportunities to reinforce your belief in yourself and not feel like to you have to constantly

prove yourself, that would mean so much more.”

“Every morning I think to myself, ’Instead of thinking about the things that can go wrong, just notice how far I’ve

gotten.’ And then just keep doing what I have to do.”

“It’s all about being positive. It’s your choice. If you don’t want to be there, just leave. It’s really simple.”

“On my best day, it’s like, ‘You can’t break me.’ If an executive doesn’t like me personally for whatever reason, he can

say whatever he wants about me. But when I go in there and rock a presentation in front of the entire network and I’m

told I did a great job, my work speaks for itself.”

“I may go home and cry, but to your face, I’m going to sit there like hard as a rock, and let you say whatever you have to

say.”

“My parents know this struggle that I’m going through, and they understand it because they’ve also lived it. That’s a

powerful thing. So for me to be succeeding right now, they understand that I’ve had to work harder than they did.”

40

Performance Reviews and Feedback

Of the young professionals in the survey, about eight in ten have had a performance review at work since 2012;

about two-thirds received an increase in compensation greater than 2%, and about half received a promotion.

Since 2012, have you… Please select one response in each row.

(Please base this question on the total time frame from 2012 to present, as opposed to annually)

Yes No Total

Received an increase in compensation greater than 2% 66 42 108

61.1% 38.9% 100.0%

Received a promotion (change in title with increased responsibilities)

58 50 108

53.7% 46.3% 100.0%

Had a performance appraisal (review) at work 84 24 108

77.8% 22.2% 100.0%

About four in ten of the young professional survey respondents believe that people such as themselves are put

on a “slow moving” track. This perception was reiterated in the focus groups.

To what extent are multicultural practitioners put on a slow moving track in their jobs?

Young

Professional

Male Female Hispanic African American

Frequently 19 4 15 5 14

17.6% 19 17.2 10.9 21.9

Often 28 3 25 13 15

25.9% 14.3 28.7 28.3 23.4

Sometimes 46 12 34 15 32

42.6% 57.1 39.1 32.6 50

Seldom 15 2 13 13 3

13.9% 9.5 14.9 28.3 4.7

Total 108 21 87 46 64

100.0%

41

Membership in Professional Organizations

The young professionals in this study highly value membership in race-neutral professional organizations, such

as PRSA and IABC. Employers of such young professionals are somewhat more emphatic in seeing the benefit

of such memberships.

Young Professionals: To what extent do you feel that membership within a race-neutral national PR organization (e.g.

PRSA, IABC, WICI) is professionally valuable?

Young

Professional

Very valuable 44

40.7%

Valuable 39

36.1%

Neutral 17

15.7%

Not very valuable 8

7.4%

Total 108

100.0%

Employers: To what extent do you feel that membership within a race-neutral national PR organization (e.g. PRSA, IABC, WICI) is professionally valuable?

Employer

Very valuable 50

45.0%

Valuable 38

34.2%

Neutral 16

14.4%

Not very valuable 7

6.3%

Total 111

100.0%

42

Both young professionals and employers overwhelmingly identify networking and professional development as

the primary value of being a member of race-neutral professional organizations.

Young Professionals: Please indicate the top three benefits of belonging to a race-neutral national PR organization (e.g. PRSA, IABC, WICI).

Greatest Benefit

2nd

Greatest

Benefit

3rd

Greatest

Benefit

Accreditation 5 9 12

4.6% 8.3% 11.1%

Camaraderie 5 8 10

4.6% 7.4% 9.3%

Mentoring 12 10 9

11.1% 9.3% 8.3%

Networking 37 21 15

34.3% 19.4% 13.9%

Newsletters/publications - 6 20

- 5.6% 18.5%

Prestige 14 13 2

13.0% 12.0% 1.9%

Professional development 31 24 22

28.7% 22.2% 20.4%

Professional support 4 17 18

3.7% 15.7% 16.7%

Total 108 108 108

100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

43

Employers: Please indicate the top three) benefits of belonging to a race-neutral national PR organization (e.g. PRSA, IABC, WICI).

Greatest

Benefit

2nd Greatest

Benefit

3rd Greatest

Benefit

Accreditation 8 13 15

7.2% 11.7% 13.5%

Camaraderie 2 2 6

1.8% 1.8% 5.4%

Mentoring 7 10 19

6.3% 9.0% 17.1%

Networking 43 32 16

38.7% 28.8% 14.4%

Newsletters/publications 7 6 9

6.3% 5.4% 8.1%

Prestige 4 5 10

3.6% 4.5% 9.0%

Professional development 31 29 21

27.9% 26.1% 18.9%

Professional support 9 14 15

8.1% 12.6% 13.5%

Total 111 111 111

100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

44

Value of Professional Affinity Organizations

Young professionals perceive the value of membership race- or ethnic-specific professional organizations

somewhat differently compared with membership in mainstream professional organizations. The overall

perceived benefit of membership is slightly less than for the race/ethnic-neutral organizations. But there are

also gender and ethnic differences that are important. Men are less likely than women to believe that

membership in the racial/ethnic professional associations is very valuable. Young African Americans also

perceive greater value in these organizations compared with their Hispanic counterparts.

Employers of young professionals also see a value in affinity organizations.

Young Professional: To what extent do you feel that membership within a racial/ethnic PR organization (e.g. BPRS, HPRA) is professionally valuable?

Young

Professional

Male Female Hispanic African American

Very valuable 39 5 34 12 29

36.1% 23.8 39.1 26.1 45.3

Valuable 33 7 26 13 20

30.6% 33.3 29.9 28.3 31.3

Neutral 28 7 21 15 13

25.9% 33.3 24.1 32.6 20.3

Not very valuable 6 1 5 4 2

5.6% 4.8 5.7 8.7 3.1

No value 2 1 1 2 0

1.9% 4.8 1.1 4.3 0

Total 108 21 87 46 64

100.0%

45

Employer: To what extent do you feel that membership within a racial/ethnic PR organization (e.g. BPRS, HPRA) is professionally valuable?

Young Professionals in Their Own Words:

“My experience with HPRA has been pretty positive. It’s just about getting yourself out there, sharing your business cards

and networking. There are so many people who invest their time in planning events and they’re not getting paid.”

“I’m a member of Color Comm network for women of color in communications. It’s been great going to events, some

private and small, so you get to have candid conversations with senior professionals. I’ve been able to connect with so

many other women who are experiencing the same things that I am. And, it’s a great opportunity for me to network and

help others do the same.”

“I recall going to PRSA events for entry level professional. A lot of the people who go are white. You don’t see a lot of

Hispanics or African Americans. I think the problem is that they’re not gearing the events towards us. So it’s like you are

trying to bring diversity, but I was only one out of ten (Hispanics).”

“I stopped going to PRSSA events my last year in college. I went to a historically black college, so our student chapter

was more centered on diversity. A lot of what comes from national PRSSA is very corporate and there was no diversity,

so I lost interest.”

“I enjoyed PRSSA and HPRA, so it was not really the experience. The issue was money (for dues). The reason I’m not in

PRSSA is the cost.”

“I stay involved with PRSSA by being a volunteer. I still get the full experience of the event, but don’t have to pay a fee.”

Employer

Very valuable 27

24.3%

Valuable 45

40.5%

Neutral 27

24.3%

Not very valuable 6

5.4%

No value 6

5.4%

Total 111

100.0%

46

The young professionals report that mentoring, networking and camaraderie are the most important benefits

derived from being a member of a racial/ethnic-specific professional organization. These organizations are

much less valued for professional development or support, compared to the perceived value of race-neutral

organizations.

Employers tend to see mentoring and networking as the primary benefits of membership in affinity-based

groups for young professionals.

Young Professional: Please indicate the top three benefits of belonging to a racial/ethnic national PR organization (e.g. BPRS, HPRA).

Greatest Benefit

2nd

Greatest

Benefit

3rd

Greatest

Benefit

Accreditation 2 2 3

1.9% 1.9% 2.8%

Camaraderie 25 13 18

23.1% 12.0% 16.7%

Mentoring 30 25 18

27.8% 23.1% 16.7%

Networking 28 25 16

25.9% 23.1% 14.8%

Newsletters/publications - 2 5

- 1.9% 4.6%

Prestige 1 1 2

.9% .9% 1.9%

Professional development 8 20 19

7.4% 18.5% 17.6%

Professional support 14 20 27

13.0% 18.5% 25.0%

Total 108 108 108

100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

47

Employer: Please indicate the top three benefits of belonging to a racial/ethnic national PR organization (e.g. BPRS,

HPRA).

Greatest

Benefit

2nd Greatest

Benefit

3rd Greatest

Benefit

Accreditation - 3 2

- 2.7% 1.8%

Camaraderie 12 12 10

10.8% 10.8% 9.0%

Mentoring 34 19 22

30.6% 17.1% 19.8%

Networking 37 34 18

33.3% 30.6% 16.2%

Newsletters/publications 1 4 5

.9% 3.6% 4.5%

Prestige - 2 3

- 1.8% 2.7%

Professional development 11 18 23

9.9% 16.2% 20.7%

Professional support 16 19 28

14.4% 17.1% 25.2%

Total 111 111 111

100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

48

Reflections on Career Choice

The great majority of young Hispanic and African American professionals in public relations hope to continue

to be working in the field five years from the present. However, African American young professionals are

more likely than their Hispanic counterparts to proactively want to provide advice about their concerns to other

young people seeking to enter this profession.

Do you hope to be working in professional public relations (or closely related field) five years from today?

Young

Professional

Yes 85

78.7%

No 8

7.4%

Not sure 15

13.9%

Total 108

100.0%

If you were asked by a young college student who is Black or Hispanic whether or not he/she should pursue a career in public relations, which of the following would most closely match your answer?

Young

Professional

Hispanic Black

Yes. "Go for it!" 48 28 21

44.4% 60.9 32.8

Yes - but with some advice and concern particularly relating to

being Black or Hispanic in entering the professional PR

58 17 42

53.7% 37 65.6

No. - because of some particular concerns you have relating

to being Black or Hispanic in the professional PR field

1 1 0

.9% 2.2 0

No. Not a good option no matter who you are or where you

are from.

1 0 1

.9% 0 1.6

Total 108 46 64

100.0%

49

Implications for the Public Relations Profession: See Executive Summary, page 10

Industry Suggestions From Young Professionals: See Executive Summary, page 11

Implications for the Needs for Future Research

Need for a Research Control Group

The value of this current research project – and others like it – is diminished by the non-existence of a

“control group.” We just do not know how non-Hispanics and non-African Americans (“Whites,”

European-background Americans, etc.) would respond to the same survey questions. Perhaps some of the

findings of this current study are more a reflection of generation (age) and/or position in the career life

cycle. Valuable as studies that focus on sub-groups are, without the control group data, it is difficult to

develop insights.

Need to Understand Impact of Gender

The well-documented and obvious imbalance between men and women in the lower-level positions of the

public relations profession, along with the equally well-researched differences in the experiences of young

African American men and women, make it urgent to understand how gender interacts with ethnicity in

professional opportunity and development. The results of this study suggest significant male-female

disparities in the experiences of young public relations professionals.

Need to Understand Experience of Organizations with Extensive Diversity-inclusion Experience

Many useful insights may yet be attained through focused research on organizations that have high levels of

involvement by employees from diverse backgrounds (such as cities and municipalities with “majority-

minority” populations and work-forces, and government entities, including the military and armed services).

Such organizations have a history of inclusion that is unparalleled in the private sector.

Need to Understand Experience of mid-level African American and Hispanic Practitioners

A future study would be useful to examine the views of mid-career African American and Hispanic

practitioners to gauge the sentiment of those who remain in the industry beyond entry-level and of those

who balance more work and family obligations than recent graduates.

Additional data analysis should be performed to discover correlations among this data set including years in

the profession, geographic location and industry type in relation to opinions of the industry diversity.

50

DEMOGRAPHICS

One-hundred and eight young public relations professionals completed the survey. All had graduated from 2008 to 2014.

About 90% were between the ages of 23 and 30.

Eight in ten respondents were women; two in ten were men. Four in ten survey participants self-identified as Hispanic;

six in ten identified as African American.

About half of the survey respondents identified their employer as an “agency” (public relations, digital, integrated,

advertising). About one quarter said they worked for a corporation, and the other one quarter worked for a non-profit or

government organization.

About four in ten of the survey respondents reported they worked in the “South” (North Carolina, Georgia, Florida,

Texas), and about one-third said they worked in the “Northeast” (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC). The

other survey participants were spread throughout the “Midwest” and “West” of the United States.

Age

Total Respondents 108

19-22 years of age 12 (11.1 %)

23-26 years of age 55 (50.9 %)

27-30 years of age 33 (30.6%)

31 years or older 8 (7.4 %)

Gender

Male 21 (19%)

Female 87 (80.6%)

Ethnicity

Hispanic / Latino 46 (42.6%)

Black / African American 64 (60.4%)

Employment

All Male Female Hispanic African American

Total 108 21 87 46 64

Agency 56 13 43 26 31

PR agency 42 38.9%

10 47.6%

32 36.8%

17 37%

26 40.6%

Advertising agency 5 4.6%

1 4.8%

4 4.6%

4 8.7%

1 1.6%

Integrated communications agency

8 7.4%

2 9.5%

6 6.9%

5 10.9%

3 4.7%

Digital / new media agency

1 .9%

0 1 1.1%

0 1 1.6%

Corporation 24 22%

2 9.5%

22 25.3%

10 21.7%

14 21.9%

Non-profit / NGO 18 16.7%

3 14.3%

15 17.2%

7 15.2%

11 17.2%

Government 10 9.5%

3 14.3%

7 8.0%

3 6.5%

8 12.5%

51

Year Graduated

2008 19 (17.6 %)

2009 13 (12.0%)

2010 11 (10.2 %)

2011 13 (12.0 %)

2012 16 (14.8 % )

2013 23 (21.3%)

2014 13 (12.0 %)

Geography

Northeast 33 30.6%

Boston 1 .9%

New York 18

Philadelphia 16.7%

Washington DC / Baltimore 0

South 40 37%

Research Triangle Park / NC 0

Atlanta 16 14.8%

South Florida 8 7.4%

Dallas / Fort Worth / Houston / Austin 16 14.8%

Midwest 4 3.7%

Pittsburgh / Cleveland / Columbus / Cincinnati / Indianapolis 1 .9%

Chicago 1 .9%

Minneapolis 0

Denver 2 1.9%

West 9 8.3%

Southern California 7 6.5%

San Francisco / Bay Area / Silicon Valley 2 1.9%

Portland / Seattle / Tacoma 0

Other 22 20.4%

52

Employer Demographics

One-hundred and eleven employers completed the survey. The represent agency, government, non-

profit/government/NGO, and corporate practices. Twenty-four identify as Hispanic, 32 identify as black/African

American, and 57 identify as “neither.”

Gender Race/Ethnicity Employer Type

Total Employers

Male Fe-male

His-panic

Black / African American

Nei-ther

Agen-cy

Corpor-ation

Non-Profit / NGO / Gov't

Total Respondents

111 38 73 24 32 57 36 30 45

# Employees Hired recent

grads in past 6 years

Has Black or Hispanic YP Programs

Org. success in diversity

recruiting

Org. success in diversity retention

Total Employ-

ers

10 or Fewer 11-50 51+ Yes No Yes No Great / Some

Success

Little / No

Success

Great / Some

Success

Little / No

Success

Total Respondents 111 55 34 22 82 26 28 64 63 44 77 29

53

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