Sep 07, 2022 Tori Ross Poole
At Inkhouse, we believe in holding ourselves accountable. Since 2020, we have made a commitment to make our diversity numbers public. The PR industry is historically white, and many people of color do not feel welcome in an environment where they do not see an authentic commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion or representation among their peers and leaders.
We’re on a mission to bring about this much-needed change for our industry. In 2020, we made concerted efforts and took some new, bold actions to diversify our Inkhouse community, all to further a workforce that is representative of the world in which we live. Over the past two years, I’m proud to say we have made some strong inroads to drive racial equity and widespread inclusion. This year, and every year moving forward, we’ll continue showing our data as it relates to the racial diversity of our employee community because transparency is the only way we can create real change.
PATH TO CULTIVATING INCLUSIVITY
One of my biggest revelations in this new role as vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion is that our employee community is unique, beautiful and different. I’ve been stretched by our team to think about diversity as it relates to race, but also by other self-identifiers. When we think about inclusivity, we’re inspired to take a path that looks wholeheartedly at what our community loves, cares about and represents. We have always felt the key to our success is our people, and we’re deeply committed to making sure our company reflects the diversity of our world. So that means asking the questions that help us learn more about each other.
We do recognize that age, gender and ethnicity are imperfect categories, so we collected self-reported data to better understand how our employees identify.
Participation in our employee survey was voluntary and 67% chose to take it. Following are the results:
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
In one conversation with my Inkhouse colleagues, someone pointedly said to me, “We are more than just numbers,” and that is what prompted this year’s evolution of our DE&I annual update. While we will always show our numbers because we believe they powerfully show our growth, we want to honor all the initiatives led and inspired by our community.
Over the past year, we’ve focused on the following developments, initiatives and investments to build a more diverse and inclusive employee community. As a company, we are committed to the path to equity. Numbers are only the beginning. Sustained change and impact takes time, and we know transparency about where we are in the journey and where we need to grow and improve is the most critical aspect of long-term change.
We’re committed to making strides both internally and externally to support DE&I at Inkhouse, and within the broader PR industry. We are focused on creating a state of equity and inclusion, and harnessing the power that comes from diversity of perspective. We believe this can work when our employees feel a sense of community and of belonging, when our systems and practices are fair and unbiased, when we ensure equal access and opportunities that meet individual growth needs, and when we give back. It is just the beginning, and with the support of our community, we’re looking forward to a bright future.
To learn more about our point of view on inclusive communications, subscribe to our weekly newsletter by completing the form on the right or contact a member of our team at workwithus@inkhouse.com.
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