LONDON — The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) is to host its first dedicated conference this month on all aspects of equity and inclusion.

The half-day event, which takes place in London on 20 September, is organised by the PRCA’s Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council will look at a range of issues impacting the ability to build a fairer and more inclusive communications industry, with the theme: ‘Change for good: Progressing the equity & inclusion agenda in a New Business Era.’

Among the topics covered will be tracking progress and embedding accountability; representation in leadership and boards; gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps; representation and role models; best practice for an inclusive culture; and the future of work.

Speakers at the conference include: People Like Us co-founder Sheeraz Gulsher; Socially Mobile co-founder Sarah Waddington; Shift MS ambassador Mark Webb; Barbara Phillips, chair of the PRCA’s Race and Ethnicity Equity Board (REEB); Taylor Bennett Foundation CEO Melissa Lawrence; Andre Spence, CEO of Global Purpose Enterprise; FleishmanHillard UK and Middle East CEO Jim Donaldson; Career Ready CEO Tokunbo Ajasa Oluwa; Dan Harris, CEO of Neurodiversity in Business; and Golin’s group DEI director, Nina Bhagwat.

The event is being sponsored by APCO Worldwide and Kantar, whose inclusion lead Nadach Musungu and group director Gareth Rees will outline the results of the market research firm’s latest Inclusion Index study into whether DE&I investments have made a difference, in a discussion led by PRovoke Media’s EMEA editor Maja Pawinska Sims.

Sudha Singh, co-chair of the Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council and founder of The Purpose Room, told PRovoke Media: “We want to take a lead in setting best practices to build a more inclusive industry. Conversations on DEI should not be limited to events, conferences, podcasts and blogs – it is time for progress and action. We want everyone who enters this industry to thrive and not just for some people to do well. The ambition is to bring together all the players in the industry, so that we speak as one voice on the biggest challenges and hold ourselves accountable.”

Also at the event, the PRCA Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council will launch the call for nominations to its first list of industry equity and inclusion champions and role models. Singh said: “As an industry I believe it is important for us to continue to challenge existing norms on who can succeed and who can be a leader.

“Historically people from underrepresented groups tend to find it difficult to enter the industry and then to progress in organisations; this is because they do not see people like them represented or in positions of power. It is important for us to be able to showcase role models who don’t necessarily conform – whether people with disabilities, black and ethnic minority employees, women leaders, or those who have struggled with social mobility or are neurodiverse.”

More details about the event and how to register can be found here.