Archive for: Media Monitoring

Pictured: Emma Franklin-Wright (left) and Katie Traxton (right).

‘We need to make sure that the industry understands the work we’re doing is integral to creating an inclusive community that is better for the individual and better for organisations,’ says Katie Traxton, co-chair of the PRCA’s LGBTQ+ Network.

Having relaunched the network in March of this year, Katie and co-chair Emma Franklin-Wright are ready to make real change in the industry. Read on for what’s coming up from the group and which organisations and campaigns are getting it right with representation.

What prompted the relaunch of the LGBTQ+ Network?
Katie Traxton: I took over running the PRCA’s LGBTQ+ group in mid-2019. At the time we were starting from scratch. Since then – including navigating moving online during the pandemic – we’ve built firm foundations, discovering what works well, how we can make the biggest possible impact and assembling a committee who are now raring to go!

Of course, the most important change in that time was Emma joining me as co-chair. We all need allies, in work as in life, and I so value being able to put our heads together on how best to make a positive difference. With all that in place, it seemed like the ideal time to relaunch as a network ready to gather as much momentum as possible over the weeks, months and years to come.

Emma Franklin-Wright: I’ve been involved in the network for about a year, and in that time have realised that to fulfil the potential for positive impact we can have on our industry, we needed to grow. That’s partly about having shared resource and support, but also different points of view both across all identities within the LGBTQ+ community and different types of PR and Communications professionals. A small independent agency has different challenges in inclusion to a global network which is in itself different to an in-house division.

It was obvious Katie and I couldn’t cover everything ourselves so we wanted to relaunch the network, bring in a new committee, and really see how we can make a difference to the industry.

What are your big aims for this year?
Katie: Raising our profile is a must, but we don’t want attention for attention’s sake. It’s important we have something substantive, relevant and actionable to share. We also need to make sure that the industry understands that the work we’re doing isn’t a ‘bolt on’. It doesn’t sit alongside everyone’s day-to-day. It’s integral to creating an inclusive community that is better for the individual and better for organisations.

Emma: Katie and I have created two work streams for this year, one around raising our profile and creating educational and informative external events and blog posts, and one around creating research and resources that help employers in PR and Communications understand how to create inclusive workplaces. I’m leading the latter so obviously I’m going to say I’m most excited about that! We have seen a record number of new agencies start up in the last two years, so creating a tool kit of resources that means it doesn’t matter if you are in a large agency with a dedicated DE+I team, or a small start-up, you can create an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ staff.

Why did you want to get involved with the LGBTQ+ Network? 

Katie: Creating inclusive, welcoming, accessible cultures is important to me and it’s my belief that to be inclusive we all need – and need to be – active allies. It’s so much easier to speak up on someone else’s behalf than on your own. For me, having the chance to work with an incredible group of people to help the PR and communications industry ‘show up’ for the LGBTQ+ community as colleagues and consultants was one I couldn’t pass up. It isn’t an opportunity that only relates to the LGBTQ+ community, either. We should be aware of all under-represented groups in our workplaces, the benefits of having input from diverse minds and championing an environment where everyone can thrive.

Emma: Katie asked me to join a PRCA panel in early 2021 – I’m something of a serial joiner, so afterwards when she asked if I would join the committee I, of course, said yes. The PR and Communications industry has such power to shape the narrative around LGBTQ+ inclusion. I see so much incredibly frustrating reporting and representation – especially around trans and non-binary inclusion – and just think if as an industry we harnessed our potential to impact on this we could make a real difference.

Are the comms and creative industries doing enough to support LGBTQ+ members of their workforce?
Katie: It’s hard to define ‘enough’. The simple answer is ‘no’, but the real question isn’t about where we are now, which we can all judge based on personal experiences, it’s about what the plan for progress is. I’d like to see industry-wide commitments to creating inclusive work and workplaces.

Emma: The workplace advocacy report we ran with YouGov last year suggests things could be better – 20% of respondents said they had been discriminated against based on their gender or sexual identity and 29% of respondents were not aware of any LGBTQ+ colleagues holding senior leadership positions. Really though the only people who can answer this question are those leading the workplaces. They need to ask themselves this question, and not only look at what is happening in their workplaces now, but ask some tough ‘‘what if’if’ questions as well. What if a member of your team comes out as trans or non binary – is your workplace set up for them? What if someone raises an instance of discrimination to you – how will you handle it?

Is the comms industry inclusive enough in its creative and campaign work?
Katie: Again, it’s hard to treat the entire industry as one entity. There will be pockets of great, inclusive work, there will be places where unfortunately work does still tend to be exclusive of under-represented groups, and then there’ll be the times where ‘inclusive’ creative and campaign work is borne from a desire to be perceived as inclusive rather than from an inclusive reality. Work can therefore become tokenistic or guilty of virtue-signalling, which is a step in the wrong direction. It’s easy for all of us to get wrapped up in our own communities and concerns, but it takes the same amount of energy to look out for someone else as it does for yourself, so if we all look out for each other, then we don’t lose anything and we gain a lot.

Emma: I agree with Katie – it varies hugely. Often, we need to communicate a lot in a short space of time so we fall on stereotypes to make sure people ‘get it’. For an industry that talks so much about impact we often forget that crucial element – what is the human impact on the people we are representing?

Which brands/organisations in particular do you think have been doing a good job on inclusion with their campaigns and approaches over the last few years?
Katie: My background before working in wider sport and entertainment was the automotive/motorsport industry and I loved the Renault Clio ad that told the love story of a same-sex couple over multiple decades, showing real depth, emotion and making you care.

The Gillette ads where a father shows his transgender son how to shave are also really powerful, taking the most ordinary of daily activities and infusing them with human connection. Of course, lots of other brands/organisations do great creative work that celebrates other under-represented groups; I love the Maltesers ads featuring disabled actors. They’re brilliant.

Beyond the connection you may feel to a single piece of content or even a campaign that makes you care though, what’s important is – what next? Is the brand recognising its responsibility? Is the content underpinned by a commitment to act and support groups who are often marginalised? I think that the most important lesson you learn when campaigning for inclusivity is what questions to ask yourself and others. No one has all the answers – I definitely don’t – but remembering to ask the important questions and hold yourself to account is a big step in the right direction.

Emma: I think authenticity is key – the Clio ad Katie references made sense as they were celebrating thirty years of the car model. There was a nostalgia and emotion to the story that just made sense.

The one that really gets me is the Starbucks ad where a young trans guy is getting dead named by friends and family then you see their joy and relief in seeing their name written on a Starbucks cup. The ‘what’s your name’ moment, and writing on the cups, is intrinsically linked to Starbucks so as an ad concept it makes sense. What’s as important is they backed it up with in store donations to Mermaids. That’s authentic representation and brave representation.

As a football fan I also loved a really sweet advert by Deutsche Bahn called ‘The Fan’ from a few years ago where you see a football fan follow his team all over the country then at the end you realise the star striker is his boyfriend.

For more on inclusion in the PR, comms and media industries, catch up with our accessmatters sessions here.

Is International Women’s Day still necessary to acknowledge in PR in 2022? While the workforce that makes up the PR and communications industry in the UK is mainly female, our sector is not fully equal across the board on gender quite yet…

Because while we’re on the subject of Boards – they’re still mostly led by men. Balancing home life and work – a necessary consideration for many women; not always for their male counterparts – has been even harder for many because of the pandemic and unconscious (and occasionally conscious) bias continues to impact career success. Where gender intersects with race, class and sexuality, the inequality built into our industry becomes even more difficult to overcome.

Yes – International Women’s Day is still important to recognise and celebrate, even in a sector that may seem to outsiders like it’s getting it right. So, happy IWD to all women; here are just come of the events and initiatives happening across PR and comms today to mark the occasion.

Recharging
M&F Health is giving its entire agency a day off in honour of International Women’s Day, encouraging staff to book a doctor’s appointment, take an exercise class or use the time to reflect and recharge.

‘74% of our agency are women and working in health and wellbeing as we do every day, makes us especially aware of the importance of taking care of our own health,’ says James Hollaway, M&F Health owner and managing director.

Inspiration for the move – the agency’s client Organon, which will also be giving its 10,000 employees a day off to prioritise their health, or the health of the women in their lives.

Educating
Over at performance marketing agency Journey Further, 160 members of staff across all three office locations will have access to a full-day event focusing on the three pillars of inspiration, education and celebration.

‘It’s important that the day is not only actionable, but also relevant to our staff,’ says PR director Beth Nunnington.

‘To ensure we are covering topics that will make the most impact, we spoke to a diverse group of women across the business, plus heads of departments, to gather feedback about which topics they would like us to put a spotlight on. Our day will include internal speakers, third party speakers, and existing content, such as Ted Talks and roundtable discussions. We’ll continue to drive this action all year round, not just on 8 March.’

Celebrating changemakers
With local London charities, the Charities Aid Foundation will be taking part in a Statue Walk with the Charities Aid Foundation, aiming to draw attention to how much work there is still to do to raise awareness about women’s equality and accelerate gender parity across the world, while celebrating women who have left their marks on history.

‘International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the achievements of women and efforts towards making the world a more balanced place,’ says CAF Bank CEO and leader of the IWD Statue Walk Initiative Alison Taylor.

‘This day also marks a timely call to action following two years of a pandemic during which women’s employment has fallen and inequalities involving childcare and unpaid labour have become more evident.’

Supporting with sports
Fourth Day has sponsored the Stockport Vikings Pumas U8s and U13s girls football teams – which play in the South Manchester Girls Football League and Cheshire Girls Football League.

The daughters of two members of the Fourth Day team play for Stockport Vikings Pumas, with one of the team, account manager Caroline Fletcher, also coaching the U8s.

Nikki Scrivener, co-founder of Fourth Day said: ‘Working with technology clients we still see lots of areas where women are under-represented. The same is true in football, so we can see obvious comparisons. But there are brilliant signs of change everywhere. IWD is a chance for everyone to celebrate this change and show that we are still striving for more.’

Keeping the conversation going
Vhari Russell and her team at The Food Marketing Experts are passionate about gender equality and will be weaving this into the way they work for 8 March and beyond.

Vhari said: ‘As a business we are part of a number of mentoring programs in which we have the opportunity to share and guide business owners and will be using this opportunity to help women in business thrive. We will be sharing blogs about women in the food industry that have bucked the norm and driven huge growth in their sectors. We’ll be sharing views and content for the whole of March, as it is important to keep the conversation going.’

For more on equality in comms, check out our accessmatters session with Melissa Lawrence about the Taylor Bennett Foundation as well as our interview Advita Patel about the work of A Leader Like Me.

For connecting with journalists writing about these issues, try the Journalist Enquiry Service to receive requests from them directly to your inbox, or get to know the writers covering your sector with Vuelio’s Media Database and Monitoring solutions.