My mother always told me to get a “real” job. How about a bank clerk? Think about it, she said. You could live at home, earn an average salary and you’d get a uniform so wouldn’t have to worry about spending all your money on clothing. Being a head-strong person, I opted for a different path. After leaving university, I wanted to understand the press and made a point to pursue a career in this area. I wanted to learn how stories were created and how the press worked.
Like many, I thought journalism was the way to answer these questions. Then I looked at the salaries and thought I can’t take a job that pays less than a job as a bank clerk, so I looked to PR (oh, the irony). I was faced by a sea of white people with – on paper – similar backgrounds. I didn’t think much of it, if anything I embraced the difference and proudly explained Ramadan to my colleagues.
As time went on, my mum still sent me bank clerk application forms and I started to tire of the yearly questioning from my colleagues about fasting. I started to wonder: why is there no one like me here? Indeed, only 8% of the industry is from ethnic minority backgrounds. Had others seen something I missed, or were they too afraid to try? Did the job discrimination research coming out of Bristol University resonate here?
In the beginning, the adrenaline rush from getting clients covered in the red tops and the broadsheets made up for the lack of work uniform. I was fulfilling my curiosity about how the press works. The stories of organising launch parties and stunts provided a sense of self and in, the words of my friends, “made me interesting”. But in time, I started to really look at the front pages of the red tops and the various stories that were spewed out on to my Facebook newsfeed. I didn’t like what I read when it came to subjects such as schools in Birmingham, or even the London borough of Tower Hamlets.
I thought I was being hypersensitive until I read Mehdi Hasan, a respected UK journalist, who has gone on record to say that the British press is encouraging Islamophobia. He is in the senior ranks at two very established publications. His views were echoed by the Leveson inquiry.
They don’t teach you this at university: what to do if your career is predicated on providing stories and managing the reputation of companies in media titles that attack your upbringing and heritage? I’ve now realised that no amount of double-page spreads featuring all the key messaging, right photo and spokesperson comment can make up for front pages that fuel stereotypes about my religion. It isn’t just the press. I remember being in a meeting and asking why there were no minorities featured in the advertising for the campaign we were working on. My questioning was met by blank faces, no one in the room wanted to challenge the status quo.
I’m not saying I’m super devout. Far from it. I pride myself on having assimilated to a level that I don’t feel uncomfortable in either culture. I pride myself on feeling at ease with my faith and having found a path that works for me that isn’t extremist or mainstream; something that thousands of British Muslims are doing across the country. I go to work, I see my friends, I go to new places, I see my family. Painfully normal, right?
What I am saying is that working in an industry that already has a diversity problem is hard to overcome. It’s an industry that serves an even bigger machine – a narrow global news agenda that often misrepresents people from minorities. My experiences have been similar to another anonymous writer on here: “My little outbursts are normally countered with a wry smile and a suggestion that I have a lot to learn.” How defeatist.
For PR and media firms out there, take a look around and acknowledge if diversity is an issue in your firm. If it is, look to support networks such as the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) and Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) to try to help you change things for the better. My rallying cry (or call-to-action, if you prefer jargon) to any minorities, British Muslim or otherwise, thinking that PR might be a suitable career for you: it is fascinating and often rewarding, but realise now that it will be hard work.
The machine you’re becoming a cog in was initially stuck due to its lack of diversity, but now it is actually spinning against you given the global news agenda. Nevertheless, more people like you can provide enough momentum to move things forward again.
If you’re going to do it, brace yourself for the bumpy ride, but remember: at least you get to wear your own clothes to work.
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