Women In Public Relations Industry: Do They Have It Easy?

Public Relations (PR) is an industry that is considered to be women-dominated but when you look at the leadership positions, just like any other industry it is too dominated by men.

Somewhere, it all boils down to the fact that people are prejudiced to think in a narrow way that women can be easily influenced into negotiating contracts or campaign deliverables. However, what people fail to see is the unique approach and business acumen that women in leadership positions come in with, and the PR domain in India shines with bright examples of how women in leadership positions are critical in making a company more wholesome and efficient.

Women have made significant progress in climbing up the corporate ladder and reaching leadership positions but there are various bottlenecks that still need to be addressed.

Women In Public Relations Industry: The obvious gender bias

The fact that not many women are appointed to leadership roles in PR agencies has woven this stereotype that men are better at it. Reports have it that almost 78 percent of CEOs in the PR domain are men and this clearly shows that women's contribution in the industry at leadership roles goes unnoticed. Studies have shown that businesses with female-dominated management are 21 percent more likely to perform better than the national average. And PR being not poles apart from other industries should also follow suit. Removing gender biases from the corporate realm is no more just a moral obligation rather it is a necessity to unlock new potential and harness talent. PR has been rated as one of the most stressful jobs in the world. And women are known to deal with stress in a better and rational way. So it is absolutely baseless to marginalise women in leadership positions in the PR sector specifically.

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‘Minding the gap’

There are evident gaps for women in the corporate realm that have mostly come into play because of psychological factors. These gaps needs to be noticed and worked upon by ensuring all voices are heard and acted upon. And who would be better champions of this change other than men; encouraging men to work on removing of unconscious biases. People at the leadership level should cultivate a level playing field, ensure equal opportunities, push for diversity, implement equal pay and encourage talent. It is through creating and sustaining initiatives and opportunities such as these that will ensure that companies retain/obtain bright talent.

Eagly and Sczesny (2009) mentioned that there is an epochal shift toward women leaders because  of  change  in  leadership  stereotypes,  yet,  this  change  is  so  glacial,  especially  in  male dominated  fields,  that  it  continues  to  perpetuate  and  hinder  women’s  access  to  leadership  roles Eagly and Sczesny (2009) mentioned that there is an epochal shift toward women leaders because  of  change  in  leadership  stereotypes,  yet,  this  change  is  so  glacial,  especially  in  male dominated  fields,  that  it  continues  to  perpetuate  and  hinder  women’s  access  to  leadership  roles Eagly and Sczesny (2009) mentioned that there is an epochal shift toward women leaders because  of  change  in  leadership  stereotypes,  yet,  this  change  is  so  glacial,  especially  in  male dominated  fields,  that  it  continues  to  perpetuate  and  hinder  women’s  access  to  leadership  roles.

‘Think manager-think male’ syndrome

It is a common perception of many men as well as women that for women to succeed at leadership roles they have to think and act like men. Hardly anyone realizes that such an outlook suppresses women’s own typical behaviour and considers it unsuitable for senior positions. 'Eagly and Sczesny (2009) mentioned that there is an epochal shift toward women leaders because of change in leadership stereotypes, yet this change is so glacial, especially in male dominated fields, that it continues to perpetuate and hinder women’s access to leadership roles’.

Although India saw a decline in board chairs held by women in 2021, it witnessed an increase in the number of women taking up CEO roles − 4.7% female CEOs against 3.4% reported in 2018. Some progress has been made but these are not enough. There is clearly much more work to be done here, especially focusing on pay equity, opportunity gaps and creating a gender-neutral work culture. Having a balanced leadership team equals better business. The sooner people realise, the better it would be for catalysing growth and fostering a culture conducive to business prosperity, and content employees.

Until we reach the equilibrium, keep the pressure on!

Nupur Singh, the Co-Founder at The GearBox Media, is a communication professional with almost a decade of experience in PR. The views expressed are the author's own.