BIC Previews D&I Research Highlighting Role of CEO in PR Firms

In collaboration with The Holmes Report, BIC PR Track Director Angela Chitkara previewed her Diversity and Inclusion research in a Town Hall meeting at The City College of New York, before CEOs, Diversity and Inclusion Officers, students, and faculty. The research, #PRDiversity: The Struggle is Real: Meeting Business Objectives with a 2020 Mindset, focuses on the role of the CEO in Diversity and Inclusion primarily. Representing the industry, CEOs Peter Harris of Grayling, Heidi Hovland of DeVries Global, Brad MacAfee of Porter Novelli, and Rob Flaherty of Ketchum engaged the audience in panel discussion. The event resulted in a working group to further study the issue. 

In her research, Chitkara found that most of the CEOs spent time defining the Diversity part, but fewer addressed the Inclusion part, specifically. Many defined Inclusion as “understanding and respecting one another.”  Those who did mention it recognized that hiring a diverse staff would not guarantee a sense of inclusion among those hired. The research paper is due out this summer. 

BIC gives special thanks to Arun Sudhaman, CEO and Editor-in-Chief at The Holmes Report for his support, especially by coming to campus in the early morning hours after celebrating the SABER Awards the night before. 

Interested in joining the working group? Email achitkara@ccny.cuny.edu 

To read more, please click here: http://bit.ly/2pjhmxo 

Follow the conversation by using #prdiversity2020.