Corporate Group: When should business take a stance?

Event Overview

Pandemics aside, 2020 has been a tumultuous year politically and ideologically. Brexit has never been far from the headlines, racial justice demonstrators have swelled streets across the globe, and public debate has become ever-more polarised on issues from vaccinations to lockdown freedoms to trans rights.
 
In October, the BBC introduced new guidelines that prohibited journalists from attending ‘controversial’ events such as marches or demonstrations. Insiders have since confirmed that Pride events and Black Lives Matter marches would likely be included in this directive. In September, the CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, released a statement explaining that his company did not take a stance on political or societal issues, as it distracts from their business focus, and offered staff who disagreed with this position the option to take voluntary redundancy (an offer 5% of their workforce has since accepted).
 
These episodes raise interesting challenges for corporate communications professionals. With so many polarising issues on the news pages this year, when and how should your organisation take a stance? When does a matter of principle become a matter for business? With inclusive employment practices now higher on corporate agendas, executives must acknowledge space within their organisations for people from across the political, ideological and religious spectrums. Taking a stance risks alienating some, but taking no stance at all brings with it the potential for even bigger issues, as Coinbase and the BBC are finding.
 
In this virtual event – to mark the relaunch of the PRCA Corporate Group – we will explore how corporate communications pros can help their organisations to identify when to take a stand, how to remain authentic and how to navigate the potential risks and benefits.
 

This event is sponsored by : 

Zoom links will be sent out to all attendees 24 hours prior to the event start time. If you sign up after this time, please contact kyrie.abrahams@prca.org.uk for the link.

This event is worth 15 points in the PRCA CPD Programme.