August 18, 2011
Steve Barrett, Editor
PRWeek
PRWeek
Dear Mr. Barrett:
We were surprised and disappointed to see so little diversity reflected in PRWeek’s 2011 Power List of 50 “elite” public relations pros. Apparently PRWeek still defines power rather narrowly. In a profession where women predominate, PRWeek found only 11 powerful women, and in a field increasingly driven by multicultural markets, PRWeek couldn’t find any powerful African American or Latino PR corporate executives. It appears that public relations executives who are running their own shops also were not worthy of the power list.
Your publication’s vision of power and elite PR professionals closely resembles that of Mad Men, the fictionalized television show reflecting the status quo of an earlier era. In our 21st century global media landscape fueled as much by independent social media as the corporate behemoths, does PRWeek really believe that power and influence are the exclusive province of white males in corporate settings?
If the parameters for inclusion were simply corporate size or billings, how were so many worthy picks overlooked? Consider African American corporate executives like Don Coleman, GlobalHue CEO; Y. Mark Belton, General Mills Executive Vice President for Global Strategy; Olivia Smashum, HBO Executive Vice President for Affiliate Marketing & Business Development; or Gwen Fortune-Blakely, Marriott Sr. Director of Marketing Integration & Brand Marketing.
Where are Latino senior executives like Univision Vice President for Corporate Communications Monica Talan or Javier Farfan, Director of Cultural Branding at PepsiCo? Why not include Jorge Moya, Chief Creative Officer at Latino agency powerhouse MGSCOMM?
Astonishingly, America’s changing face with its multi-hues and backgrounds was not reflected in your tribute. Nor did you consider the rapidly evolving field of public relations that includes myriad entities and organizations ranging from boutique firms to shops within public interest organizations that are reframing public policy and our communications landscape. Does PRWeek honestly believe that the executives shaping the messages and communications strategies for the nation’s non-profits and advocacy groups don’t exercise power within our profession and the larger public square? Perhaps the core question is how do you define power?
Today, a number of women, African American and Latino PR professionals broker power in ways that lift the industry to new heights. PRWeek owes it to those leaders and the profession to support a vision for the future that incorporates diversity in leadership as a best practice. Women constitute a majority of the population in a world that is increasingly black and brown. Our teams and our strategies must reflect the people we aim to reach and influence.
Sincerely,
Donna Lewis Johnson and Llenda Jackson Leslie
McKinney & Associates
I CONSTANTLY wonder why it is that men still dominate media and marketing when it is female consumers who make most of the buying decisions in the U.S. Indeed, I mused on this very topic yesterday on Twitter when I came across a recent Nielsen report that reaffirms this information. You can see that here: http://twitter.com/CarriBugbee/status/105825438546399232
ReplyDeleteGoing forward, I believe women are excluded at the peril of big companies, agencies, and the organizations who report on them. This has already been demonstrated in the technology sector. Read the report by the National Center for Women in Information Technology (http://ncwit.com/thefacts) to learn how diverse companies are not just better places to work, they're more profitable as well.
Great letter - the "Mad Men" analogy is really appropriate. I particularly like that you provided strong example names.
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