If Black and Indigenous people, and people of colour, matter in your PR agency, prove it
Davina Ramnarine has often been the only person of colour in the room at the PR agencies she's worked at. She's never had a manager of colour. She's experienced racial micro-aggressions. And, as the Black Lives Matter movement ripples around the world, she asks: How is it that we work as creative problem solvers, selling ideas and solutions every day, yet somehow diversity and inclusivity remain so elusive?
No-one can plead ignorance about the social injustices and inequalities faced by the Black community anymore, especially those of us for whom the media agenda is our bread and butter.
People have taken to the streets. You can’t escape the news. Content is plastered across social channels. That white supremacy and systemic racism exist and are having a devastating effect on the life prospects of Black people, as well as Indigenous people and people of colour, is an inescapable fact.
A Black Lives Matter protest in 2014
And yet, as I look at my social feeds, so many of the people I’ve worked with throughout my career in PR – the majority of whom are white and many of whom are leaders in our field – have shared nothing about the Black Lives Matter movement that continues to unfold before us.
I am left wondering why those I’ve worked with in Australia, Canada, and the UK have remained silent, and what we can do to move beyond this apathetic status quo. Have you spent the past few weeks questioning your complicity? Assuaging your guilt?
Maybe you’re doing the hard work of learning about white supremacy, your privilege, and systemic racism. Maybe you’re donating to organisations that are fighting this fight, and feel you’d only be virtue signalling to post. Maybe. But my experience tells me you’re more likely to be ignoring this topic because it makes you feel uncomfortable.
We’ve known for a long time that our industry has a diversity problem. I’ve been in PR and communications for a decade, working in PR agencies in three countries. I have seen so few Black, Indigenous, and people of colour in the agency world – agencies that claim to represent, understand, and have a unique talent for empathising and communicating with the societies they live in.
I’ve often been the only person of colour at the table; I’ve never had a manager of colour.
What I have had though, are the same conversations when it comes to the topics of diversity and inclusion. I’ve heard a lot of lip service. I haven’t seen a lot of change. I’ve experienced the same apathy over and over again.
In Canada, I experienced racism in the workplace, from micro-aggressions such as casually being told my last name is “too difficult to pronounce” (honestly, people can pronounce ‘Zack Galifianakis’ correctly, but ‘Davina Ramnarine’ is a struggle?) to being shut down and ridiculed by senior leadership when speaking up about the lack of racial and socioeconomic diversity in my company.
And more.
And worse.
In the UK, I saw something special amongst us few people of colour: nods and smiles as we passed each other in the halls, as if to silently say ‘I see you’. The problem is we need white people to see us, but, more than that, to ensure we have a seat at the table. And we need to see you take a stand for what’s right.
My experiences in Australia gave me hope. I felt heard and supported. But despite this, I found that discussions and celebrations of diversity were myopic and centred on gender and sexuality, with a general avoidance or perhaps wilful ignorance when it came to addressing the lack of racial diversity in the industry.
This is why I feel a responsibility to speak out and ask more of the leaders of this industry, an industry that helps shape the public agenda and normalises what we see, hear, read and pay attention to.
I believe that PR practitioners have always had a moral obligation not just to say something, but to do something. I don’t believe my experiences and observations of racism are unusual for people of colour in public relations. Nor do I believe I’ve experienced the worst of it; I’ve had opportunities in this industry, and I’m quite aware of my relative privilege as ‘model minority’ compared to Black and Indigenous communities.
Change in our industry is long overdue, and it’s because the people who’ve historically had the power to drive meaningful change haven’t been doing it.
It’s time you recognised that the system you are a part of is broken. How is it that we work as creative problem solvers, selling ideas and solutions every day, yet somehow diversity and inclusivity remain so elusive?
Please don’t simply relegate the Black Lives Matter movement to an internal case study or a ‘lunch and learn’ session, as is so often done for the racist and tone-deaf brand campaigns we continue to see. I’m certain that if there was more diversity at the table, those campaigns would never have seen the light of day.
Instead, consider looking at fellow senior leaders in person or on your company leadership page. Do you notice a complete lack of Black, Indigenous or people of colour?
Think about your wider team and colleagues. Are they representative of your city and country?
Ask yourself if you have ever listened to the industry experiences of the one or few Black, Indigenous or people of colour in your company. Better yet, have you ever sought out these people to learn about their experiences?
Do you understand what racial micro-aggressions are? Have you ever committed them?
Have you tried to build the profile of Black, Indigenous or people of colour in your company, through exposure to industry events, master classes or more, to uplift these groups and ensure others can see themselves in the industry? At a baseline, are these people even in your company photos?
If the answer is no, you’ve got some work to do. I don’t have the answers, but here are a few tips on how you can get started on the critical work required for meaningful change in our industry.
Educate yourself
Read content from Black activists and leaders, take a course, join the conversation. But don’t expect the Black and other communities to do the work for you.
Unconscious bias courses are often a requirement in our industry, but white privilege and classism are topics frequently danced around and not properly acknowledged.
Create safe spaces for open dialogue
Engage in conversations with Black, Indigenous and people of colour about their experiences. Truly listen, and acknowledge the reality of the prejudices and fears many face or have faced. These simple actions help people feel heard and this supports inclusion. You’ll probably learn a lot.
Widen your circles for recruitment
I’ve often heard the refrain that there simply ‘aren’t candidates of colour’ for PR roles. Are you looking in the same places for something different? Remember, it can be hard for people to envision themselves on a career path when they see no faces like theirs on company pages or if their path to entering your company is marketed as a program for ‘disadvantaged minorities’. That’s hardly inclusive or fostering a sense of equality.
Show people that there truly is a pipeline to leadership, recognition and success in the industry for them. And stop using the excuse of ‘cultural fit’ in your recruitment – this is so often a euphemism for excluding those who don’t look like you or have the same background.
Remember intersectionality
If you’re going to build a ‘diversity council’, make sure you have Black people, Indigenous people, and people of colour on it – not simply gender and sexual diversity.
White feminism doesn’t support everyone and addressing intersectionality is important but often (and conveniently) overlooked in our line of work.
Say – but mostly, do – something for the Black Lives Matter movement
I think it’s important that PR leaders visibly commit to real action, transparency and updates on progress towards better diversity and inclusivity. You have social channels and followings. You work with big brands and the media. How are you using your power, dollars and your voice, particularly if you are a leader in the industry?
How will you stay accountable? And what are your metrics for success in driving industry change and investing in the talent, communities and opportunities for Black and other communities?
The Black Lives Matter movement has highlighted overt racism against the Black community, but more broadly, the covert and systemic racism that all Black people, Indigenous people, and people of colour experience. The PR industry is no exception.
What we say and do about diversity in our line of work has huge potential to impact not only the opportunities of those within our industry, and those who might wish to join it in the future, but also how society at large views Black people, Indigenous people and people of colour.
It’s time for the public relations industry to play its part in ensuring that Black Lives Matter. It’s time for you to speak up. It’s time for you to take real action.
Davina Ramnarine is a PR professional who has worked in celebrated PR agencies around the world, including in Melbourne
Well written, and I can only imagine it took a bit of courage to write and put your name to it. You are not the only one to notice this.. I have long thought the push for ‘Diversity’ in agencies has been too myopic.. centered only on gender diversity.
Agencies trumpeting “changing the ratio” and being “more diverse” yet all the while remaining close to 100% white in senior leadership roles.
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Firstly I feel it necessary to clarify:
Your topic is important, and better can always be strived for.
However, articles like this can make it even harder to speak out. You’re effectively questioning and criticising the way others are handling the conversation, which may discourage many from speaking out, for fear of further criticism. I also feel that aligning this to the topic of Black Lives Matter may also be counter intuitive to encouraging debate. It intertwines multiple topics, making it more difficult to have an opinion on one topic, without it also being applied automatically to another (whether closely aligned topics or not).
If you’re to do a second part to this article. I’d love to hear more about what you’ve tried to implement yourself in the white majority countries you’ve had the opportunity to work in. What you’ve seen work, what barriers you encountered and how you feel they could be overcome.
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I’m a person of colour, but not Black. Not sure if being a Yellow person grants me the privileges to comment on your piece as I don’t seem to fall within your definition of a person of colour.
You don’t understand the fundamental demographic factors at play within Australian society.
And no, no one is going to force me to spend my days “assuaging guilt, or learning about white supremacy”. That just reeks of querulous paranoia.
Firstly, Black people make up a tiny proportion of Australia’s overall population. You calling out for more representation of People of Colour (in your piece PoC = Black people) because you don’t see Black people in your industry claiming that this doesn’t represent the demographic composition of Australian society due to some inherent racial bias is simply wrong.
African Australians make up 1.6% of Australia’s population, with a third of them from South Africa and likely White. Indigenous population represents 3.3% of Australia’s population, with only a third of the Indigenous population residing in major cities. So add that up, you are talking about less than 3% of the Australian population.
I would understand if you were calling out the under-representation of Asian Australians who now make up 16.3% of Australia, which in your piece is not what you are advocating for. There are outside factors at play here also, that result in the underrepresentation of Asians in the media industry and this is NOT due to bias.
So, no, the lack of Black people within any industry is not an under representation due to bias, it is a much deeper social issue concerning the wealth gap, education gap, and a whole myriad of issues sadly plaguing the First Nations’ people.
Australian media have a talent problem, and you would find an over-representation of British people seeking permanent residence here. If you were ever in a hiring capacity, you would understand. As much as you would like diversity in your immediate workplace environment, if the applicants are all White, you’ve got no choice.
Instead you should have suggested something more tangible or practical such as education programmes driving awareness about the media industry to Indigenous Australians, or scholarship programmes etc. that actually address the issue at root cause. But you’re not.
Likewise, there are similar issues, like the over-representation of certain non-White demos in Accounting, Dentistry, Cleaning Services, etc. Or the high concentration of Indian born IT workers in the country.
You have to understand the government’s targeted immigration policy, the motivators and employment preferences of newly arrived immigrants and their children and so much more. ie. Yellow people tend to shy away from media jobs, because language is one thing but there are government policy driven factors (such as PR eligibility) as well as different cultural connotations that drive employment decisions.
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Great article Davina Ramnarine – an insightful and brave piece.
I am disappointed however to see Mumbrella did not report on the racist language used in the Sunday Telegraph by Peter Gleeson – surely one of Australian’s most read papers using such words takes the entire Australian media industry 10 steps back? Kudos on Pedestrian for covering it: https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/peter-gleeson-sunday-telegraph/
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Hi P,
Unfortunately that just comes down to COVID-related hour cuts. We’re all working at reduced capacity and no longer cover weekends. This means that by the time Mondays roll around, a few weekend stories will fall through the cracks.
I am aware many high-profile people encouraged people to complain to the Australian Press Council (APC) about this, so we will definitely keep an eye on that ruling either way.
As you can see with this piece though, we are trying to give a platform to the BIPOC community so that more people hear their voices.
Thanks,
Vivienne – Mumbrella
Really well written and appreciated response. Thank you for putting data to thoughts I had while reading through the article.
These are the real underlining factors, which will be missed if we’re only basing opinion on articles which are using current events for self promotion.
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As a ‘POC” of African descent and an immigrant, I’d like to challenge some of the writer’s assertions. Firstly, when it comes to race relations, Australia is not the USA. Australia wasn’t founded on 250 years history of slavery, and we didn’t fight a civil war. Australia didn’t have Jim Crow laws, the KKK or race riots in the 60s. Against this backdrop, trying to equate the grievances of the BLM movement in America to Australia’s indigenous community is, in my humble opinion a major stretch. I’m guessing that’s why there’s less interest in BLM. There is enormous public good will towards indigenous Australians, and successive governments have spent, and continue to spend, billions trying to improve their situation.
Secondly, there is no “responsibility” to be either a supporter or activist for BLM. It’s entirely up to the individual. The writer goes completely OTT by suggesting the local PR industry has somehow failed to question its “complicity” in ignoring BLM, and “assuaging your guilt”. I’m guessing agencies are too busy being focused on trying to keep clients well serviced and their staff employed during the Covid crisis.
I’ve worked in the Australian PR industry for 35 years in senior in-house roles and in agencies. I can honestly say I’ve never encountered the “white supremacy” and “systemic racism” that Ms Ramnarine says she’s experienced during her career. I reckon I would’ve come across it by now.
As for never having worked for a “manager of colour” , in my experience that’s less important than working for a decent and fair boss who will judge you on your capabilities and contributions, not your skin colour.
Finally, as one POC to another, here’s some advice for Ms Ramnarine: to succeed in our industry think less about “intersectionality”, “safe spaces” and “unconscious bias”, and focus more on how you can use your skillset to help your clients succeed. They’ll thank you for it, no matter what your colour. It’s worked for me.
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While I do not work in an agency, I have had plenty of interaction with agencies over the past thirty years and have had social contact with many during that time. I have never experienced any racist comments or expression of racial bias from any media employees from management through front desk staff. I am sure if there was more media graduates from indigenous or ‘black’ backgrounds they would be treated equally and given all the necessary experience and assistance to reach the top. The number of non-white ‘actors’ being included in tv commercials is one indication of the attempt by agencies to be inclusive. Check it out.
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Really appreciate your time to reply and understand the COVID-related hour cuts.
Hopefully the APC ruling will draw more attention to the disgusting words used and Australian advertisers who have been supporting the Black Lives Matter movement will think about where they spend their campaign dollars.
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You have written much more eloquently, and with the added perspective of being non-white, than I would have done to echo these thoughts.
Of the 3% of Indigenous people making up Australia’s population, I would hazard a guess that less than 0.001% of all people in PR would be Indigenous Australians.
There are many things that need to be fixed in this country to improve the plight of our First Nations People so it is a shame that this article has been written as just another excuse to get some personal PR and put the boot into the white people that work in this industry.
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The struggle has been more visible in the US and has hit mainstream news and cultural references, but the history (distant and recent) in Australia is pretty similar in terms of shamefulness – not that it’s a competition.
This history is not well taught in our country, in fact it’s hidden. Indigenous Australians have not yet had the cultural clout of African Americans to address this. So US comparisons are often based on poor understanding of the actual experience of indigenous Australians.
Tip of the iceberg:
https://theconversation.com/was-there-slavery-in-australia-yes-it-shouldnt-even-be-up-for-debate-140544
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Hi Pete, with your thirty years of experience and interaction with agencies, how many non-white people have you met in senior leadership roles? And how many white people have you met in senior leadership roles? I’m sure you’ll agree the percentage is very low
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As another POC, I agree with the sentiment but I’ve always had issue with this ‘Educate yourself’ line. Beside it being a bit mean, it’s wholly unpragmatic. We in this industry know it makes no sense to sell your ideas by telling people to look it up. Never mind the multitude who don’t care to do it, the remainder wouldn’t know how.
If you are uninformed on the issues at large, how would you know where to start? What do you even google? Do you know how many terrible takes there are on the internet? Antivax exists because of “self-education.” Ditto with 5G conspiracies and Flat Earth. And these are just the easily scientifically provable ones. When we start talking about social issues with their incredibly complicated nuances, the odds of your average punter stumbling on the ‘right’ take is almost zero.
It’s easy to call out things that are unfair but a lot harder to identify what *is* fair. That’s why it’s incumbent on those who know to tell those who don’t. At the very least we can recommend writers, speakers and pieces as a good place to start. We of all people should know that expecting the uninformed to magically become informed of their own volition is an exercise in futility. This industry wouldn’t exist if that happened.
It just seems so bizarre to call for more POC leadership while telling people they should lead themselves to… where, exactly?
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why would you identify as a ‘yellow’ person?… people are people regardless of creed, colour or race…. See you all in 2021
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