Feminisation of PR

I must say this session was real fun. The subject was about feminisation of PR and diversity issues. To begin with, the course tutor, Michaela O'brien asked students to think about what makes a man and a woman.

It was interesting to hear classmates name characteristics attributed to Masculine such as: leader, ego, dominant, independent, objective, hunter and assrtive. Some of those associated with feminine according to my peers include: emotional, sensitive, tender, soft, creative and adoptable.

The aim behind this was to show how society associates some of these characteristics with different sexes. After deliberations, students realised that some of these characteristics could apply to both female and male. And that stereotypes were very strong, just how peope look at others and perceive them differently.

How could some of these be applied in the PR profession. More of these was deliberated at length during a heated debate which I was taking part in. The motion of the day was "Women will always work in the Public relations industry but will never run it". I was on the opposing side. Firstly, I would like to say I found this statement not to be correct as we already have women running the industry even in the past when the profession was perceived to be male dominated.
I backed this with examples of women heading big PR agencies like Fleischman-Hillard, Edelman and Ogilvy PR Worldwide.

My colleagues pointed out some of the characteristics such as emotional, soft,...etc to argue that women tend not to have what it takes to be in leadership positions. Ooops! did this actually come from fellow female students!

However, according to Larissa Grunig (2001), she has noted that women were perceived to be better communicators basically because they tend to build relationships, communicate with others, consider feelings of others and empathise with others. check out for more on this in my next post.

How are women in PR perceived?

Equal rights is normally an issue at every workplace. The PR industry is no exception. Although, I feel that it may be slightly different in this profession. I may be wrong, but looking at the salary gaps for men and women in public relations, this calls for a bone of contention. Apart from salaries, battles in maternity leave and the infamous glass ceiling have been an issue for some time also. However, this may have changed in some companies, but still continues to be an issue for debate.

The other day I was talking to a friend about the rise of women in the PR industry. I asked him what he thinks about men and women in this profession, his answer was, generally, women tend to be better communicators and pursuasive as compared to men. It doesn't mean that men are not good at communication, don't get me wrong on this, but women seem to have better listening skills and are more sensitive in facilitating two-way communication.
For instance, women are seen to be good at consulting because they understand the value of relationships and emotions. Hey! hey! hey! Now, that’s not to suggest that men aren’t good at that -- Just that women tend to come by this more naturally, they are biologically hardwired to want to make connections with people and build relationships on trust and mutual respect, an important skill in consulting. Mmhhh...don't shoot me on this guys.

What expressions are used?
As Catherine Arrow points out in her article on PR Conversations "expressions such as ‘PR Poppet’, ‘Fluffy Bunnies’ and ‘PR Bunnies’ are rife, and these, along with other descriptors.., undermine and denigrate both the profession and women." This shift in balance towards women tends to lead to much stereotyping. In their study, Frohlich and Peters’ ("2007) in a journal of Public Relations Research, reveals the "evolution of a “PR bunny” stereotype that adds a negative touch to the female image as “natural born communicators.”

Another observation is that when some people think of women in PR they think of images of Lizzie Grubman or Samantha Jones in the Sex and the City. Stacy Nobles, management supervisor at Peppercom in New York, argues in her article on TV portrayals of women in PR are bad for our industry,published in PR Week (2005), that "to have her (Lizzie) as the face of PR is frustrating to those of us in the industry ... especially to the real "Power Girls." Mmhhh! What is your view?

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.