Findings from the survey of public affairs executives show that the average percentage of public affairs function staff who are people of color is just 20%, a low number when compared with the average racial and ethnic diversity of the United States (about 40%, according to the U.S. Census). This figure has changed little since the question was first asked in April 2021 for the DEI Trends in Public Affairs Report, when the finding was 17%.

This year’s survey from the Foundation for Public Affairs includes two new measures of diversity: LGBTQ+ and disability. The percentage of public affairs function staff who are LGBTQ+ is 5%, and the share of staff with a disability is 3%.

Lack of diversity still seen as barrier to entry

Sixty-two percent (62%) of respondents say the lack of diversity of the field discourages individuals from entering the profession, unchanged from 2021. When asked how their functions measured up against the broader profession, 31% of respondents rated their function as having below-average diversity compared with others in the field — an improvement from 40% in 2021. Just 27% rated their function as having above-average diversity, although this was up from 23% last year.

Building a Framework for Progress

There is reason to be hopeful, though, that small improvements seen in this year’s survey could indicate more progress, however slow, to come. Enhancements to DEI infrastructure and priorities, both in organizations and in their public affairs functions, show the most promise. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of respondents incorporate DEI strategies and goals into their company’s strategic plan (up from 59% in 2021), 73% provide DEI training for employees and 60% have one or more staff primarily focused on DEI.

Encouraging as well, 84% of respondents think diversity and inclusion in the profession will increase in the next three to five years. Sixty-eight percent (68%) say it will increase somewhat, and 16% say much more. Of those who believe diversity will increase, the primary reasons include:

• Organizations making conscious decisions to hire more diverse candidates (58%)
• Talent pool becoming more diverse (27%)
• Organizations instituting more DEI/social progress programming (23%)
• Organizations following through on DEI recommendations/commitments (17%)

More partnering on DEI initiatives

Partnerships are another area of growth. In last year’s survey, 50% of respondents said their organizations have partnered with other groups to advance DEI. This year, that figure increased 13 percentage points to 63%. The preferred groups to partner with are trade  associations/professional societies — 57% of organizations who say they partner with other groups have partnered with these trade associations/professional societies, up from 46% last year. Charitable/community groups are also high on the list of preferred groups at 52%. Academic institutions come in third at 31%. The public affairs function has a primary role in 27% of DEI partnerships.

This year, we asked survey respondents whether their public affairs department has goals or benchmarks for establishing alliances or partnerships with multicultural groups focused on DEI and social progress. Thirty-seven percent (37%) said they have goals, and 57% said they don’t.

When asked to describe the extent of their organization’s DEI efforts, more than half (55%) said their efforts are “the right amount,” but one-third (33%) described their efforts as “too little.” And when asked to report on obstacles in the DEI process, the top obstacles were lack of coordinated effort throughout the organization and lack of internal resources to implement initiatives.

This year’s survey respondents were asked how big of a problem, if at all, are racial disparities within the public affairs profession. A plurality (41%) said it is a major problem, and 23% said it is a minor problem, while 16% said it isn’t a problem.

Companies Feeling Pressure to Engage in Social Issues, but Top Issues have Changed

New to this year’s survey were questions on social corporate engagement and environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy. The Council’s 2021 report Taking a Stand: How Corporations Engage on Social Issues found that public pressure to respond to social concerns was strong in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and other high-profile events. At that time, 91% of companies reported an increase in pressure to take a stand on social issues. In 2022, 59% of public affairs professionals indicate that pressure to get involved has increased in the past year. Only 4% of companies report a decrease in pressure. However, 37% of respondents report no change, which indicates that pressure to engage may be stabilizing.

In this year’s survey, the most common social issue for corporate engagement is environment/ sustainability with 79% of companies advocating on this issue, comparable to 2021.

In 2021, respondents reported a marked increase in corporate engagement on equality-related issues compared with the first year of the survey, which was fielded in 2016. In 2021, over 80% of respondents indicated they advocated for equality in terms of race, gender and sexual orientation. In 2022, equality-related issues are still among the top issues for corporate engagement, but the proportion of companies actively engaging in these issues has decreased sharply, with 52% of companies advocating for racial equality, 52% for gender equality and 58% for equality for LGBTQ+ people.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Companies also shared the tools they use to support engagement on social issues. In this year’s survey, the two most common tools are lobbying through a trade association and joining a coalition. This is a change from last year’s responses, in which the top two tools were joining a coalition and issuing a statement on an important public concern. While issuing a statement is still a common tool, the increase in association lobbying shows that companies are continuing to think about how they can make a greater impact.