WiPA statement on Black Lives Matter, and events in the US & UK

10 June 2020

We want to acknowledge that this has been a difficult time for black colleagues and people of colour working in the industry. We want you to know that we see you and we support you.
 
We recognise that our own executive is not representative. That needs to change. If you are reading this and you want to become involved, please get in touch. If you have ideas for what we can do better, please get in touch. We would particularly welcome expressions of interest from black women and people of colour, those who identify as LGBTQIA, and disabled people. We are also committing to supporting organisations that are seeking to bring about change in a bid to ensure that our industry better reflects society as a whole.

To all of our members: we’ve said before that public affairs is important because it helps shape our world. We were talking then about gender (in)equality in the industry but the point stands here: as professionals we help organisations to push agendas and are drivers of change. Where we are unrepresentative we are weaker, and where we let views go unchallenged we are complicit in them, and in policy work that can be particularly damaging.

So we challenge you to think: what can you do to bring allyship and further the cause of anti-racism to your work?

Education is a first step, and we have added a number of information sources to the ‘resources’ section of our website.

Thank you for reading. 

#BlackLivesMatter