Q+A Series - Jazmin Eusébio

To celebrate the honorees from the DAA’s 2022 Gala, the DAA team has launched a Q + A series to highlight the meaningful work of communicators who are driving forward diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry. The interview below was conducted by Jenny Ho.

“We are doing it because we are passionate about DEI, and a lot of people think it's a hobby to just join an ERG or lead the ERG events, but we are so invested because we want to see people succeed.”

-Jazmin Eusébio, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Senior Specialist & Public Relations Senior Account Executive at Highwire PR

How have you witnessed diversity, equity, and inclusion evolve in the communications industry over the last several years? What is the biggest challenge the industry still faces as it pertains to DEI?

When I first started at Highwire PR, they weren't really touching on DEI or how to participate in this space, but the murder of George Floyd was the turning point. This is when Highwire began to touch on DEI more and even with their partners as well. Companies, regardless of industry, were open to having a voice and were reaching out to us to craft a message for them. During the Black Lives Matter movement, a lot of consumers would see the statements put out but it was interesting seeing the behind the scene movements with C-suite professionals, especially when they dissected how to go about their public messaging.

We wanted PR agencies to navigate this and make sure it's authentic. This was one of the biggest shifts. The biggest challenges that the industry faces are being true at once. A lot of industries were prioritizing DEI and had a lot of actions in place, but now we see these same tech companies laying off these departments. These are the same companies that were vocal about DEI prioritization but are now laying off DEI leaders. A lot of organizations think DEI is a priority, but these companies need to see this is a lifelong journey and can't be built overnight. Even if you have DEI professionals employed, it's still going to take a long time to see these spaces change. I haven't seen a dramatic impact. Those commitments are being let go and they're going back to square one even though they were the ones saying they prioritize DEI. 

Other challenges involve thinking of how to measure belonging, and how people feel included? How are ERGs working? Because there's still a gap in how DEI leaders see success and how the C-suite sees success. This made me reevaluate my career goals.

What is one piece of advice you would give other diverse professionals within the industry as they progress in their careers?

To remember to protect your energy, especially in this field and industry. We are doing it because we are passionate about it and a lot of people think it's a hobby to just join an ERG or lead the ERG events, but we are so invested because we want to see people succeed. As DEI leaders, we are expected to give council. All these different horrible events are being turned to DEI leaders to be the ones to publicly comment on, since a lot of employees are turning to their company’s DEI departments. Sometimes, this has you questioning what the right thing to do is, so it's important to protect your peace with good intentions.

What book are you reading now and why is it appealing to you?

Inclusion on Purpose is a book I’m reading that was gifted by my manager, Ayanna Anderson. We’ve been talking a lot about intersectionality at work, and it's been the biggest challenge at the agencies. We have been welcoming a lot of new employees since there haven't been any layoffs. We grew from 60-150 employees. Because of this, there are more cultural backgrounds and we’ve seen more people ask about different microaggressions and how to create a culture of inclusion and belonging in the workforce. The author of this book goes into real world examples and how to go about different practices and what you can do as a leader to curate this space. We also hope to have a mini book club and see what practices we can use from the book to bring to Highwire.

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