A look at the changing field of Public Relations and Communications

The Diversity Action Alliance (DAA), a coalition of communications leaders and organizations, has released its fourth Race and Ethnicity in Public Relations and Communications Benchmark Annual Report. In collaboration with the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), the report reflects data from over 16,000 employees across 99 companies, including Fortune 500 communications departments and top-ranked U.S. communications agencies. The 2023 data was reported as of January 1, 2024, focusing on three key areas:

• Racial and ethnic representation by position level and organization type
• Share of promotion and promotion rates by race/ethnicity, position level and organization type
• Organizational demographics over five years

The study draws on data from DAA signatories committed to transparency, innovation, and accountability, measuring aggregate progress toward industry representation goals. IPR manages data collection, analysis, and writes the report.

The DAA report shows a six-point increase in overall racial diversity among participants, rising to 28% in 2023 from 22% in 2019—driven largely by a three-point gain in Latino representation. With nearly 20% of the U.S. population identifying as Hispanic or Latino, improved representation supports deeper market reach, especially considering that Spanish is the nation’s most common non-English language. Still, the modest gains highlight persistent disparities, particularly in leadership, and reinforce the urgent need for structural change to address the all-too-common experience of people of color being ‘the only’ or ‘few’ among colleagues. By 2045, more than 50% of the U.S. population will be people of color, a demographic that has driven 100% of the U.S. population growth.

“Our signatories’ data serves as a critical business intelligence tool, not a quota exercise. Strong data sets enable organizations to conduct self-assessment and thorough workforce analysis, mitigating risk by ensuring organizations are not discriminating against any group while fostering healthy peer benchmarking, which can be a powerful motivator,” said Carmella Glover, DAA President. “While we’ve seen small gains over the past five years, our field still lags behind the broader stakeholder market. We are committed to providing this progress report annually, and providing resources to drive measurable actions. Diversity is vital for responsible and relevant business and communications.”

Other key findings:

• Leadership Representation is Rising: In 2019, just 7% of top communications leaders (CCOs, agency CEOs, executive directors) at DAA signatory organizations were racially or ethnically diverse. By the end of 2023, that number more than doubled to 18%, surpassing the 13% racial and ethnic diversity among CEOs at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies. Similarly, there has been a five percentage point (pp) increase in diversity among communication executives in the last five years.
  
  
• Promotions Have Increased, with Variability: Promotions of multicultural employees rose 42% since 2019, with 27% of promotions attributed to employees of color in 2023, up from 19% in 2019. Boutique agencies led in promoting Black, Latino, and Multiracial employees, while Asian employees advanced more in nonprofit and professional services sectors.
  
  
• Sector-Specific Progress: Corporations reported a 7 pp increase in multicultural diversity (from 23% in 2019 to 30% in 2023). All agency sizes saw increases: boutique (7 pp); small (14 pp); midsize (8 pp); and large (4 pp).

The 2024 data submission window will close on June 30, 2025. The senior-most communicators at any organization (i.e., CCO, Agency CEO, Executive Director) can join DAA by participating before the deadline. Learn more about the reporting tool here. 

Download the full report here.

About the Diversity Action Alliance
The Diversity Action Alliance (DAA) brings communication and public relations industry leaders and organizations together to drive and support transformative change toward shared workforce representation and inclusion goals. Through data-driven insights, agenda-setting thought leadership, education, and other resources, the DAA’s mission is to be the industry’s accountability lever and force multiplier, driving more diverse, fair, and inclusive workplaces that lead to lasting change.

SOURCE Diversity Action Alliance