We shine brightest and our clients receive the best results when everyone can bring their authentic selves and experiences to their work.
At a baseline, we do not discriminate against anyone based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, genetic information, or any basis protected by law.
We’re committed to using our collective voices, experiences and relationships to confront biases while advancing diversity, equity and inclusion at Hodges and within our industry for underrepresented communities.
We know for inclusion to be realized, we must prioritize equity. Here’s what you can expect from us:
1. CREATING OPPORTUNITIES
The PR industry is overwhelmingly white and needs more diversity. We’re committed to opening doors to help more professionals flourish in the communications sector. We’re developing externships, shadowing programs and high school and college partnerships to introduce more students to public relations careers. When we have hiring opportunities, we’re creating programs to help publicize job positions to diverse candidates.
2. VOLUNTEERISM
We’re lending our time and talents to the community. Many Hodges team members volunteer and serve on boards, and we’re in the process of implementing regular volunteer service days where team members will be able to give back, together, to important causes in the Richmond community.
3. ADVOCATING FOR EQUITY IN OUR INDUSTRY
Through our roles as communications consultants we have the opportunity and privilege to influence clients on policies and community relations, as well as external and internal messaging. We’ll push clients to incorporate DEI into their business objectives and work to connect them with DEI consultants.
4. EMBRACING OUR AUTHENTIC SELVES
It’s essential to create a safe space at Hodges for staff, clients and guests, and we’re making sure our stakeholders and community know what we stand for. We’ve committed to an ongoing calendar with DEI training opportunities throughout the year. In addition, we encourage staffers to share DEI content on internal channels.
5. VENDORS
We aim to partner with diverse vendors. We are also working to ensure vendors receive pay equity. That means we will advocate for vendors to receive our highest billable hourly rate (or the preferred pricing of the vendor) on projects.
This content was last updated on November 4, 2021.