In the month of November PRSA and PRSSA will be in celebration of diversity. However, diversity, even with its huge strides of success, has been a topic that has been controversial for a long time, especially in the United States. Many wonder why diversity matters and think that diversity just pertains to skin tone, sexual orientation or citizenship. But the most amazing thing is that diversity happens whether a company wants it to or not. The only thing that can be controlled is the amount and range of diversity that happens in the workplace. This being said diversity is important in PRSSA’s eyes for a multiple reasons.
1) Globalization and Research
Public Relations is more that just knowing the background of a single group. When doing correct Public Relations work, a practitioner will be better off with knowing more than his/her background. Even in the workplace, it is easier to be comfortable around different demographics if the office is filled with them. This being said not only knowing about different peoples but being comfortable with them helps a great deal with working with others professionally. You understand them and they understand you. This is especially important in communication where most businesses work globally. Breaking the barrier of diversity is easy. The only thing needed is a want to broaden the professional (and in most cases personal) horizon.
2) Being Involved and Reflective
The workplace is a stressful place and many like to be as removed from the workplace as possible. In the world of communication, this is not the case. Communication is all about relationships, understandings and interactions with many different types of sects, creeds, genders, and ethnicities. This is another reason why being diverse is important. Being diverse allows for employees and others to be extremely involved in the workplace and comfortable in many situations. The more diverse the group the more able others are no longer afraid to branch out to someone new. In the world of communication this is especially important. If the workplace is diverse it will make working for different, extremely diverse companies seem like a cake walk. It is also important to be able to reflect on why others backgrounds are important. Demographics feel comfortable surrounded by others like them, so when marketing or talking to these different groups it is important to know why they should care about what you have to say, how does it help their them? Knowing their background helps you understand what different peoples hold important. It is also good to know that others do not hold the same things in the highest regard.
3) Comfort
This is a subject that seems to be a common theme in diversity. People are comfortable when they work and are surrounded by others that are like them. However, being comfortable is a very guild term as well. Diversity is everywhere whether a company wants it or not. Backgrounds are all extremely different and even if groups have the same skin color or religion does not mean that everyone in that group thinks or acts the same. Welcoming diversity also means being comfortable in one’s own skin. Once someone realizes that everyone has faults and issues it helps everyone bond better as colleagues and friends. In communications it is detrimental to be comfortable and to help others join you as well. Everyone has problems in life and everyone also has differences. Recognizing them and accepting them allows for a productive and safe environment to ensue.
All of these ideas are amazing reasons of why diversity is not only important in the workplace, but also why it is important in life outside PR as well. November is PRSA’s and PRSSA’s month to celebrate and honor diversity. If this subject and celebration interests you further you may visit other PRSA blogs about diversity as well! All have different perspectives.
Links:
PRsay:
PRSA Diversity Today:
http://diversity.prsa.org/index.php/2012/03/what-dancing-with-the-stars-can-teach-us-about-diversity/
Written by Alex Siebert, Junior. Contact Alex at valpoprssa@gmail.com
Written by Alex Siebert, Junior. Contact Alex at valpoprssa@gmail.com
