THE FEMINISATION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

As a man looking to do great things within the PR industry both local and abroad, I find it deeply unsettling this debate that the entire PR industry irrespective of country of practice is increasingly feminised. I must admit, this comes as no surprise to me. This isn't the first time my sexuality has been questioned as a result of my profession of choice. It stated as a joke amongst my male peers but quickly it became a painful blow to me.

This leads to the question, how exactly did this happen?

Today, 79% of the PR employees are women, the remainder are men - the only comforting fact here is that the men fill the board level/ senior management roles in firms and consultancies across the world.

Which asks the question, are women incompetent? Are they less intelligent than their male counterparts?

The first sets of reasons that jump to mind - when thinking women in PR - is the same framework that can apply to any profession and I must confess I find it incredibly hard to tailor this specifically to PR.

Factors such as lesser working hours, maternity leave periods, lower ranking positions in comparison to their male colleagues. The question is this is typical of most industry, why the particular issue in PR?

Some have argued that women's natural capabilities quickly ‘box' them into certain stagnant roles within PR firms/agencies. Skills such as writing and creativity make women easy targets for these roles in their job description where their male counterparts fill managerial roles. During my research, what I found to be most absurd is an independent study conducted by the University of Kent on this current situation. A key finding was this notion that women will never occupy key positions because of their inability to network.

We can go on and on for reasons why women are not on the top of the PR industry as they so rightly deserve after all women continue to make huge breakthroughs in every sector. American Democratic presidential candidate is testimony that it is all a matter of time before things change. It would be utterly foolish to out rightly conclude that women will not dominate the world of business or politics.