DEI SENSEMAKING AND SOCIAL IDENTITY SIGNALING IN PUBLIC RELATIONS: RECRUITMENT OF PRACTITIONERS WITH MARGINALIZED RACIAL AND ETHNIC IDENTITIES AND QUEER IDENTITIES THROUGH DEI CUES

This multi-method dissertation explores diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues at public relations (PR) agencies in the United States to recruit and retain more practitioners with marginalized racial and ethnic identities as well as queer identities. My first study, in-depth interviews with 12 DEI professionals at U.S. PR agencies, captures their perspectives and contemporary understanding of DEI. This explorative study uses Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA) to discuss environmental factors and relations that influence the agencies’ DEI processes and practices. I use the findings from this qualitative inquiry to develop DEI cues and conduct an experiment to investigate their effectiveness in recruiting entry-level PR practitioners with historically marginalized social identities. Guided by social identity theory, intergroup emotions theory, and signaling theory, this follow-up study provides experimental evidence of the importance of DEI efforts and communication of those efforts, social identity, and intergroup emotions in understanding students’ job pursuit intention for a public relations agency.