PRIA diversity policy aims to get 22% more men into industry
The first industry diversity and inclusion policy aimed at reducing gender inequity in the PR and communication industries, was announced yesterday at the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) National Conference.
Makatoa: “The profession is undergoing a generational gender shift”
The policy focuses on attracting more men to the industry and plans to increase the proportion of men aged under 25 to 40% by 2025, it will also be used as a point of reference for progress and encourage a higher standard of gender equality.
In partnership with educational institutions PRIA hopes to recruit more males into communication, media and other recognised degrees assisting them to explore accredited pathways into the profession and make workplaces more accessible.
The strategy aims to actively engage and profile male members of the industry, work in conjunction with educational institutions to recruit more males and explore and accredit additional pathways into public relations and communications.
Developed by Susan Redden Makatoa, group managing director – corporate Ogilvy PR, the PRIA-run program commissioned the Online Research Unit to conduct a survey of 500 practitioners to measure and ask about the diversity of the industry.
After analysing the results, Redden Makota said: “The profession is undergoing a generational gender shift – while numbers of men and women are even in the 44-54 age bracket, men aged under 25 represent just 18% of practitioners. Overall, women make up some 76% of the industry”.
PRIA national president, Jennifer Muir said that the policy was developed because it’s simply the right thing to do.
“As an industry, we advise organisations on how to engage audiences of all types. If we want our communication activities to be authentic and credible, our workforce needs to reflect the diverse Australian population.”
Commitment to diversity and inclusion leads to more engaged employees, which helps attract and retain talent, and deliver sustainable benefits to organisations. This can only benefit the PR and communication industry,” Ms Muir said.
Abigail Dawson was Mumbrella's senior content journalist covering event content. She left Mumbrella to move into an agency role in 2020.
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This is desperately needed. There should be a quota for employing men in PR roles. I think it’s higher than 76%.
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