Colin Byrne of Weber Shandwick put the cat amongst the pigeons recently by questioning in a PR Week opinion piece why the PR sector still doesn’t reflect the diversity of British society. And if his analysis is right, the industry may be missing out on a significant pool of talent it can ill afford to ignore. As one of the experts in this field, Abbas Jaffer, head of diversity at investment bank Morgan Stanley, puts it, “No organisation can be complacent about the nature of top talent because the old perception of key people being white, middle class males is being swept away. Brains don’t have a colour and ability is distributed right across the ethnic spectrum.” As in the banking industry, part of the problem may be a failure in communicating to potential new entrants right across the board that PR can provide realistic career options for anyone with talent and application and is not the closed shop it may at first appear. And if a sector that earns its way by communicating can’t do that effectively, you’re left wondering just which one can.
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