Diversity Equality and Inclusion at Harvard
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Louie St Claire
25 Nov 2021
As part of our dedication to DE&I, from this year we have committed to publish a report on our DE&I efforts. We don’t need to do this, but we think that as an agency in the PR and marketing industry it is incumbent on us to share the work we do so that all may benefit. We also want to put a stake in the ground.
We firmly believe that DE&I isn’t something for agencies to compete on, it’s for agencies to share. All boats lifted by a rising tide and all that.
Within the pages of the report, you’ll find a review of all our activities, our strategic approach and the elements we measure in order to ensure we hold ourselves to account and are focussed on our journey. There are also spotlight areas on race and ethnicity, gender and LGBTQ+ – all urgent requirements. There are also a few special guests that have been kind enough to give us their time.
Our agencies are reflections of the societies we operate within and it is incumbent on us as leaders, usually white, most frequently men and almost always middle class, to be more than mere allies. We need to actively champion those that do not benefit from privilege or are parts of society that experience at best disenfranchisement and at worse abuse, prejudice, anger and hatred.
At Harvard, this started with listening and education, moved on to meaningful discussion and finally action. The word that has underpinned our year when it comes to DE&I is normalisation. Once you have created safe spaces for dialogue, where people can reflect but also are allowed to make mistakes, people can be more open about a whole host of challenges and then at least people can all move forward together.
All of this is addressed within the report.
We’re so proud to have got this far, but unlike most things in business this is a journey with no end point. We can’t wait to see what comes next and we say that with real optimism and hope.
For anyone out there who takes the time to read this: we are always here for dialogue, ideas and any learnings we can share, just get in touch.
