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.