Today we had a debate in class on an unbalanced ratio between male and female employment in top positions within UK PR industry. Personally I found this discussion very subjective. According to statistics, the majority of PR practitioners in UK are female, howerver executive positions are laregely dominated by men.
May we think that this happens because women naturally have a better sense of guiding communication? Do women have attributes which give them a competitive advantage over men?
It can be dramatically different in other countries which historically have a different attitude towards women. Even today, top positions are not given to women, particularly in the communications industries.Although there are some women in executive PR roles we have agreed that this number could have been bigger. "Women traditionally in PR have been held to more of a technician's role, hired and paid to do the work of PR -- the craft, the writing, the media relations, the special events," explains Larissa Grunig, a public relations professor at the University of Maryland who studies the feminization of PR. "Women are over-represented in technicians' ranks, and under-represented in management."
"Companies consider PR as marginal to organization function, not central like finance or marketing. They're not afraid to give women a shot at PR because the risk factor is low," says Grunig. "This is a place where companies traditionally hire women within the executive ranks. If an organization pays lip service to affirmative action and the importance of hiring women, but doesn't trust women to be as effective in management, PR seems like a safe place to put women."
For instance, in my city the top positions are traditionally given to men, although this tendency has been changing. Since PR industry itself is still a kind of a new field women are in executive positions’ minority. I can explain it by fact that traditionally women were not given high authorities.
It can be dramatically different in other countries which historically have a different attitude towards women. Even today, top positions are not given to women, particularly in the communications industries.Although there are some women in executive PR roles we have agreed that this number could have been bigger. "Women traditionally in PR have been held to more of a technician's role, hired and paid to do the work of PR -- the craft, the writing, the media relations, the special events," explains Larissa Grunig, a public relations professor at the University of Maryland who studies the feminization of PR. "Women are over-represented in technicians' ranks, and under-represented in management."
"Companies consider PR as marginal to organization function, not central like finance or marketing. They're not afraid to give women a shot at PR because the risk factor is low," says Grunig. "This is a place where companies traditionally hire women within the executive ranks. If an organization pays lip service to affirmative action and the importance of hiring women, but doesn't trust women to be as effective in management, PR seems like a safe place to put women."
For instance, in my city the top positions are traditionally given to men, although this tendency has been changing. Since PR industry itself is still a kind of a new field women are in executive positions’ minority. I can explain it by fact that traditionally women were not given high authorities.
In years to come, large PR firms will not be able to afford to upkeep a patriarchal employment model. A new paradigm is on the advance and so is a new school of highly educated female practitioners.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4422/is_4_18/ai_77010728
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4422/is_4_18/ai_77010728
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