Paradoxical PR Playground: A Lack of Leadership Roles for Women in a Predominantly Feminine Industry

Simone Batelaan

Source: MeJudice

On September 4, Mijntje Lückerath, Professor Corporate Governance at the University of Tilburg, published the Dutch Female Board Index 2019. This yearly-published document reveals the amount of women at the top of Dutch companies. After three years of decline, we are now back at the percentage of 2015: 8,5% of the board members are women.  

Not merely victories

Nevertheless, in most industries worldwide the inequality between men and women at leadership positions is still dramatically low. In “Where are the women? An examination of research on women and leadership in public relations”, communication scholars Katie Place and Jennifer Vardeman-Winter (2018) underline the paradox of the PR industry. Although women occupy 75% of the jobs in the PR industry, at senior leadership positions there is all of sudden only 1 out of 5 a woman. So one may wonder, where does this discrepancy come from? 

Something with social constructions

Certain very old fashioned assumptions about ‘the role of women’ and ‘the role of men’ in PR make that we are still stuck with social constructions about the good-in-writing-woman versus the managerial male boss. Historically, this can be explained as the practice of PR has been divided into the technician role – writing and messaging – and the manager role. The latter became involved in leadership positions where the technicians - women - were left in a position without mentor or any track in self-development. 

However, social constructions are there to be constructed, but more importantly, reconstructed. We should not let it up for grabs to leave this grand gendered division in the current PR industry as it is. As leadership analysts Gail Fairhust and David Grant argue:

“Such a view [social constructionism] shows us how meanings that are produced and reproduced on an ongoing basis create structures that are both stable and yet open to change as interactions evolve over time”

Back to school

Consequently, adhering to the ideals of the social constructivists, there is a fundamental role for communication if one wants to win this bitter boardroom battle. And this starts of course in the… communication science classroom! Place and Vardeman-Winter preach that these constructions will not disappear if there is no attention for this problem at uni. In this place, the students are prepared to enter the PR domain and develop themselves. 

Yet, without enough focus in lectures and seminars on “the development of leadership skills, practicing salary negotiation tactics, or reviewing case studies involving gender disparities in the PR profession”, where are they stimulated to break this construction? Because I can assure you, it sure as * won’t happen (enough) in the field.

The Field?

Source: DDI

No, we are not getting into Bourdieu’s socialist terms now. I’ll get back to that next time. However, we should take into account the role of different fields and theories if we want to tackle this issue seriously. As the PR field is borrowing most of its theories from other fields, these should be incorporated in the learning program as well. Professors should be willing to open up
the conversation about equal pay 
and representation in the PR field by

“drawing the bigger picture and incorporate more critical and cultural pedagogical research tools that enable students to see how public relations functions within a larger system of societal, economic and regulatory pressures and power differentials”

A textbook case

Take for example the Critical Race theory, better known as CRT. According to the UCLA School of Public Affairs, “CRT recognises that racism is engrained in the fabric and system of...society. The individual racist need not exist to note that institutional racism is pervasive in the dominant culture.” Originally developed in the 80’s during debates at law schools, and later integrated in the social sciences as critical theory to examine society and culture. You can see the link; a potential success of opening up the conversation about a tense topic in class. 

The way to go
Place and Vardeman-Winter did a pretty neat job in conducting a refined analysis on the state of women in leadership roles within the PR domain. They provided a hands on guide with a, as they call it, ‘roadmap’ for improving women’s presence in the PR field. I would like to describe it as a Call To Action for you and all our communication peers. When we promise that gender equality in the PR industry will improve and contribute to a better score, can we agree on a 15% Female Board Index for 2020, Mijntje?

Still excited? Watch this! 

Mind the Gap: Women's Leadership in Public Relations

Source: YouTube

About the author: Simone Batelaan took a gap year to South America and discovered that her main interests were in languages, communication and international relations. This explains the BA in American Studies and 
– almost – MA in Corporate Communication; some would say best of both worlds. She sees herself working at a sports brand as marketing and communications specialist.

Read more?

Fairhurst, G., & Grant, D. (2010). The Social Construction of Leadership: A Sailing Guide. Management Communication Quarterly, 24(2), 171–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318909359697

Lückerath, M. (2019). The Dutch Female Board Index 2019. [online] Tias.edu. Available at: https://www.tias.edu/docs/default-source/Kennisartikelen/rapport-femaleboardindex-2019.pdf

Place, K., & Vardeman-Winter, J. (2018). Where are the women? An examination of research on women and leadership in public relations. Public Relations Review, 44(1), 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2017.10.005