Estimated Reading Time: 1 minute
I recently saw a new book title I couldn’t wait to read: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Strategic Communications: Becoming Culturally Proficient Communicators by Drs. Lee Bush and Karen Lindsey. As the introduction says, this text gives an overview of the foundation of DEI. It then moves on to an applied discussion about DEI concerns for PR professionals. This is the best I’ve seen since switching to academia.
The subjects included are as follows:
- DEI Definitions, Theories, and Concepts
- Understanding and Reaching Diverse Audiences
- Centering DEI in Strategic Writing
- Visual Storytelling: Reframing Diversity and Inclusion
- Inclusive Digital and Social Media Strategies
- Designing Culturally Sensitive Research
- Integrating DEI into the Campaign Planning Process
- Working on Diverse Teams
- Inclusive Leadership
- Reputation Management and DEI
- Communicating for Social Change
The text is approachable for practitioners, and I hope many will read it.
I also hope professors and others will join me in reading it and considering how the topics can be discussed in our teaching of the research, planning, implementation, and evaluation (R-PIE) of public relations. I both believe it could be a stand alone course (my sample syllabus summarizes things to discuss), and these topics also need to be incorporated into existing classes for public relations students. Maximizing DEI should not be thought of as optional or additional work but, rather, a fundamental part of what it means to be the professionals responsible for creating a “strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics” (PRSA).
Sandra Boone 
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