The salary gap irony

Many women are migrating to the profession for several reasons. As Greg Smith points out from his research, some people perceived PR as a glamorous and soft career option.

The irony is that, despite the increase of women in the industry, most of them tend to take long to climb to managerial posts.
In an article on 'The Missing Story of Women in Public Relations' in the fifth volume, Issue 3 of the journal (1993), Grunig L. A and Toth E. L point out that: "Further analysis of the dimensions by gender indicated that a combination of roles existed; the women managers did “it all,” for less money, and the men in technical roles more likely did managerial activities as well. The women technicians carried out technical tasks." (p. 153 -175).

However, as women dominate PR; the few men in the profession continue to dominate the top positions. Cameron et al.' (2007) quotes professor Linda Aldoory and professor Elizabeth Toth in the journal of Public Relations Research as saying that: "although the PR profession is almost 70 percent women today, men are often favoured for hiring, higher salaries, promotions and management positions." (p.65).

A salary survey conducted by the PR Week as seen on table herewith shows evidence that men in the profession earned more than women. This has not improved much. It can be argued that men work longer hours as opposed to women who have to juggle between family and work denying them the opportunity to earn more money like their male counterparts.

Are women taking over the PR profession?

Historically, PR had been perceived as a male profession, but this is changing. This profession has undergone a significant demographic change in the last 20 years with a majority of the workforce being women (Lukovitz, 1989; Toth & Grunig, 1993).

With the influx of women now enrolling for degree courses -- a possible influence on public relations perceived as a female career, the trend has led to arguments that the PR profession is becoming feminised.

I happen to be in a class of over 30 students taking a postgraduate course in PR, and majority of my classmates are women. This small fraction may just reflect that the profession is being dominated by women and a steady increase in the numbers of women entering PR over the past.

According to Grunig. A. L. et al., (2004) in Women in public relations: how gender influences practice, “By their growing numbers alone, women have created opportunities themselves beyond what fields traditionally considered “female”, such as nursing and teaching, could have offered.” (p.4).

With the evident in the UK and US, the increasing numbers of women in PR is clearly a widespread phenomenon. But why is it happening? Personally, after working in media for several years, I felt I should move to PR, for a different experience, challenge and career growth. As I look to research further in this trend, feel free to comment. Your feedback and opinion is much appreciated.