The Public Relations Coalition, an alliance of 23 industry-related organizations, announces the findings of its first diversity benchmark survey in this report. The survey is part of the commitment made at the Coalition's Diversity Summit -- held in 2005 -- to increase efforts in improving diversity in the public relations and communications fields.

Most respondents believe that the PR industry needs improvement at all levels of minority representation, particularly at the senior level. The survey found that, as a percentage of staff, representation of minority groups decreases for senior management positions compared to non-managerial roles. While the majority of respondents agreed that the industry is very diverse as it pertains to women, results indicated that there is room for improvement when it comes to filling senior level positions with women. Several areas that need to be improved in order to enhance diversity were identified in the survey, including recruitment and mentoring practices, networking activities and advancement procedures.