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PR: An Industry Full of Women, Run by Men

It's a well known fact that women still face inequality like sexism and discrimination in the workplace. However, while we often focus on the dismal representation of women in STEM fields or at the top of corporate fields, this problem extends to many (if not most) professional fields. Public relations is one such field in which women face multiple types of discrimination.

In 2007, median incomes for male and female PR professionals were $73,250 and $66,467 respectively, which is a significant difference. Not only are women in PR making less, but they are also filling fewer managerial positions despite making up nearly two-thirds of the PR workforce. In theory, women should make up at least half of the upper level jobs as well, yet men hold 80 percent of the higher-up positions. Does that imbalance raise flags for anyone else?

The infuriating imbalance of these allocations cannot be attributed to a lack of ability or even inexperience. There are a number of managerial public relations jobs that are filled by men entering the field even though these men have no PR experience. Furthermore, companies that did place women amongst the top ranks (gasp!) cannot downplay the brilliant work achieved by said women. One study showed that when women are put in charge, good things follow such as higher returns on equities, greater efficiency and increased job satisfaction for employees. Additionally, women-owned businesses have grown on average at a rate higher than their male-owned counterparts. The growth rate of these businesses has been nearly double that of male-owned businesses in recent years.

Women cannot be discouraged by the blatant discrimination that exists in public relations. Instead, women must continue to apply for managerial positions, exemplify their superior potential and do their best with every project. Statistics show that women are fully capable of taking the lead when given the chance so women must persistently continue to demand these opportunities and prove they are worthy better positions and pay within PR careers.



More articles by Category: Economy, Feminism
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