Gender Discrepancies in Public Relations

This summer, I had the experience of working in a well-known public relations firm in New York City. I was aware of the stereotypical gender specific roles in the industry, but I was not prepared for the reality of those roles.

At the particular firm I was interning at, 80% of the staff was comprised of women. This was not surprising because there has been a surge of women into the PR realm. These women I worked with were attractive and well-dressed women. These women ran the show. They were the first ones in the office and the last to leave. They did all the tasks and did them well. It was the men who were in positions of leadership, despite in my opinion of being lazy, and it was the men who had the two-hour lunch meetings and the four o'clock cocktails with clients.

Yes, the women ran the show, but the men reaped the glory.

The article we discussed in class, Gender Discrepancies in a Gendered Profession- A Developing Theory for Public Relations, confirmed what I was exposed to over the summer—in the public relation’s world, there are several discrepancies among the genders. Women are paid on average 40% less for the same job a man would be. To me this is absurd. We live in an era where women are leaders of companies, states, and government. Why can’t they be treated equally to men in the work place?

Unfortunately, as in the advertising industry, the culture of public relations firms puts men in positions of power and women--the majority--in the worker bee category. Is this fair? If a woman is in a position of leadership in a PR firm, how is she percieved by her fellow female colleagues? Her male counterparts?

What will be interesting to see in the coming generations is just how much the gender discrepancies creep toward equal. Less than 50 years ago, most women did not even attend college and fewer worked outside the home. We have taken great strides as a country, but in my opinion not great enough. In an ideal work place, a position would be awarded to the most qualified applicant and they would receive the same wages as equally qualified employees, gender irrelevant. But nothing will change if people don't demand change.