Inspiring the Next Generation: Our Day with King Solomon Academy's Students

In a world brimming with untapped potential and undiscovered passions, the adage by activist Marian Wright Edelman still rings true: "You can't be what you can't see." It's one of the main challenges DEI initiatives face: if there aren't people like you following a certain career path, you may not choose to follow it yourself, in fact you may not even be aware of it in the first place.

PR and Marketing are industries that, like many others, struggle with a lack of diversity. Nearly half of all UK marketing agencies were found to be 100% white in 2023, which was a 4% increase compared to the year before. Furthermore, the CIPR claims UK public relations practitioners are 90% white, and 25% privately educated - with the latter being four times higher than the UK national average.

At Clarity, we strive to create impact and build a better tomorrow, and key to this is increasing diversity of all kinds in our agency and sector, globally. We know that a diverse team leads to more varied thinking, which ultimately results in a better culture for our people, and stronger results for our clients. Reflecting that, one of the key objectives of our internal DEI Taskforce is to help build a more diverse PR and Marketing sector, and we’re working to do this by inspiring young people from all walks of life.

Actions for a positive future

We were delighted to be invited to West London’s King Solomon Academy to talk to their 14-15 year old students. Lareece, Louisa and Alex from our London team joined a group of professionals from a variety of industries to talk to the students about our careers: what our jobs are, the skills required, how we got there, and how they can get there too. 

Our collective aim was to broaden the horizons of these young people, exposing them to a wider array of career possibilities while honing their networking skills. Throughout the day, between the three of us, we engaged around 30 pairs of students, delving into the worlds of public relations, public affairs, and brand strategy. 

Inspiring the next generation

Just how do you explain these nebulous jobs to teenagers? Well, that was all part of the challenge, here’s how we tackled it:

By the end of the day, we hope we sparked some curiosity and maybe even inspired a few students to explore paths they hadn't considered before. Interestingly, many were curious to understand how they could access our sector without a university degree. This is something we do not require in Clarity’s blind recruitment process as we judge on skills and cultural fit.

Are you interested in a career at Clarity? Reach out to our friendly People team today.