PRCA and Women in PR join BBC’s 50:50 Project

The PRCA and Women in PR have together joined the BBC’s 50:50 Project, with a commitment to improving the balance of representation for genders in content, while providing improved representation to minority groups. The PRCA and Women in PR have launched their own challenge to the PR industry to follow suit.

Launched by the BBC, the 50:50 Project is the biggest collective action on increasing women’s representation in BBC content that there’s ever been. More than 500 teams including several thousand journalists and content-makers at the BBC are involved across TV, radio and digital and from news, sport, factual, children’s, science and music. In addition to 50:50, the Corporation aims to reach 50% women on-screen, on-air and in leadership roles across all genres from Drama to News by 2020.

Other organisations may also join the 50:50 Project, and more than 35 external partners are now signed up. Companies from Australia, the US, South Africa and Europe are applying it within their own organisations. The PRCA and Women in PR are the latest to join up.

The PRCA and Women in PR are committed to improving the balance of male and female representation across its conferences, panel discussions, and any other live content, where there is no impediment for them to do so. They are also committed to improving the balance of representation within their own printed and online content wherever possible.

In addition, the membership associations are calling on all members to also make a commitment to improving the balance of representation across the communications outputs they make on their own behalf and on behalf of their clients. This might include spokespeople provided to the media; speakers provided at events; and within content creation such as publications, newsletters, videos and any in other communications formats.

PRCA and Women in PR members can join the joint register of 50:50 supporters if they agree to making this commitment to improving equality in the media.

Francis Ingham MPRCA, Director General, PRCA, said: “I am proud to be making this commitment to equality of representation in our live events, not to mention our printed and online output. Projects like 50:50 play a hugely important role in improving equality within the media.”

Bibi Hilton MPRCA, President, Women in PR, said: “Women in PR is proud to be supporting the BBC 50:50 project and is committed to improving the representation of women, particularly those from diverse backgrounds, across the industry at events, conferences and in the media. We are calling on our members and the wider industry to do the same in their organisations. This commitment follows the launch of the WPR Speaker Directory last year, a free resource listing diverse, female speakers for media and event organisers to access.”

Sarah Holmes, External Partners Manager, 50:50 Project, BBC, said: “We at the 50:50 Project are pleased to be supporting PRCA and Women in PR in their aspiration to increase female representation in content produced by the public relations and communication industry. By working collectively and sharing best practice, we are aiming to deliver a significant and lasting change in the media.”

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