Profile: Women in Canadian public relations

Judith S c r i m g e r

Profile-. W o m e n In Canadian Public Relations The author of this article has taken a close look at trends that show sharp increases in the number of women choosing public relations as a career, and has zeroed in on Canadian practitioners for analysis. While this study did not examine bias in the workplace per se, a number of significant patterns stood out which strongly indicate that female practitioners in Canada mirror the same handicaps documented in studies of U.S. practitioners: They have less authority and lower salaries than men in the profession. Few hold senior management positions; only a third feel they exert influence on policy-making in their organizations. The author poses a question: Will young men moving into the field, with higher education levels than the women studied here have attained, advance any faster or fitrther? Judith Scrimger is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Relations, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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he movement of w o m e n into the field of public relations has been clearly documented. Kathryn Theus reported that the Public Relations Society of America has tracked its female membership from 1:10 in 1968 to slightly better than 1:3 in 1985. I More than half the membership of the International Association of Business Communicators is female and the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) reported that 30 percent of its 1984 membership was female. 2 Don Bates reported in 1983 that 20 percent of the 4,100 chief public relations officers listed by O'Dwyer' s Directory of Corporate Communications were female, up from 13.7 percent in 1979. 3The 1984 Peterson survey of journalism and mass communication showed that 72.9 percent of all public relations majors in the United States were women. 4 At Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax (where the only undergraduate degree in public relations in Canada is offered), 90 percent of the majors are women. Although the trend in numbers has been clearly demonstrated, it's not clear just what this change in the demographics will mean for the w o m e n themselves and the profession as a whole. Glen Broom studied the membership of PRSA in 1981 and found that about half of the w o m e n saw themselves operating primarily in the "'communication technician" role 40

Profile: Canadian Women while more than half of the men reported the "expert prescriber" role as their dominant role. Only 34 percent of the w o m e n reported the expert prescriber role and only 21 percent of the men, the communication technician, as their dominant role. Broom pointed out that although both men and w o m e n initially seem to be hired for their journalistic skills, four out of every five men in PRSA have expanded their roles to that of public relations experts and facilitators of communication and problem-solving while only half of the w o m e n participate in these management-level public relations functions. Broom asked if it is something about the employment situations, something about the practitioners themselves or aspects of both that account for the role differences. 5 The objective of this study was to compile a career, education and personal profile of w o m e n in public relations management in Canada in the hopes of shedding some light on some aspects of what has been labeled "the feminization of public relations."

Methodology All possible candidates were selected from the membership lists of the IABC (Canada) and the CPRS using two criteria: a female-sounding name and a title that suggested managerial responsibilities. A 73-item questionnaire was mailed to 324 subjects in November 1983. The response rate was 57 percent, with 186 usable questionnaires collected by January 1984. Of the 186 w h o responded, 102 belonged to CPRS only, 57 to IABC only, 26 to both organizations, and one respondent did not indicate membership. Provision was made for a follow-up study. Findings Career Data Most of the w o m e n in the survey reported their titles as director or manager (68.3 percent) with only 8.1 percent having the title of president. Of these 15 presidents, 14 were sole owners and presidents of their firms. The majority of the respondents appeared to be middle-level managers. Forty-eight percent reported to the chief executive officer. About 14 percent had no staff to supervise, with the majority w h o did have staff supervising fewer than four people. Almost 40 percent did not have control of their own budgets. The majority worked in organizations with 500 or more employees and in departments with budgets of less than $200,000 (Canadian) per year. More than half worked in the private sector. A little more than half earned salaries of $35,000 (Canadian) or more. When asked to list the five principal duties of their positions, the respondents listed media relations most often, with advising management coming fifth on the list. 4][

Public Relations

Reltew TABLE 1 Title

8.1% 4.8 38.7 29.6 1.1 5.9 11.8

President Vice-President Director Manager Executive-Director Supervisor Other

TABLE 2

Sector Private Corporations Consulting Firms Government Non-Profit Unclassifiable

36.5% 14.0 15.6 29.6 4.3

TABLE 3

Salaries Less than $20,000 $20,000 to $24,999 $25,000 to $29,999 $30,000 to $34,999 $35,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $59,999 $60,000 or more

2.2% 7.0 15.1 21.5 22.0 19.9 5.9 4.8

TABLE 4

Principal Duties Media Relations Writing and Editing Publication Preparation Internal Communications Advising Management

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65.6% 46.8 43.5 41.9 40.9

Profile: Canadian Women When asked to rate their influence on policy on a scale of one to seven, one-third indicated they believed they had any significant influence on policy. When asked to rate their satisfaction with their career progress on a scale of one to seven, with one being "very satisfied," most of the w o m e n chose the satisfied end of the scale (mean=2.6). Satisfaction with current work content was similarly high. Most expressed some degree of satisfaction with salary (mean = 3.35).

Education and Experience Nearly 78 percent of the respondents did not hold a degree or college diploma, while more than 50 percent did not hold a university degree. Seventeen of the respondents (9 percent) had completed or were studying for advanced degrees. Half of these degrees were in English or journalism, with two respondents studying business administration. Nearly 75 percent of the w o m e n had spent more than 10 years in the work force, with 18 percent having more than 20 years of work experience. About one-third reported a secretarial or clerical position as their first fulltime position. Journalist was the next most frequently mentioned at 13.4 percent. Only 9.7 percent reported that their first full-time position was in some aspect of public relations. Nearly 40 percent had spent more than 10 years in public relations. Most changed positions and organizations frequently. Although 68.8 percent belonging to the CPRS, only 36.7 percent of that group was accredited. Only 35 percent had attended a national CPRS conference, the main professional development activity sponsored by the society. Personal Data Nearly 25 percent of the women indicated they were separated or divorced. In addition, 11.3 percent had divorced and remarried. Nearly 30 percent were single. TABLE 5

Age Less than 25 25 to 29 30 to 34 35 to 39 40 to 49 50 to 59 60 or more

1.6% 16.1 22.0 21.5 23.1 13.4 2.2

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Public Relations

Re,tew

A little more than 58 percent did not have children and of that group more than half were over the age of 35. Of those who did have children, more than a third had one child only. Almost 75 percent of the women took work home, with an average of five hours of work per week done at home. The average number of hours spent working in the workplace was 44. When asked to rate the difficulty of reconciling demands of home and work lives on a scale of one to seven, with one being "'very easy," the majority found it to be relatively easy (mean =3.46). However, as one respondent commented, "right now my job is a lifestyle in itself." More than 25 percent spent more than four weeks of the year away from home on business; some spent as much as two months per year traveling.

Conclusions and Discussion

Few w o m e n in public relations management in Canada hold senior management positions. Although nearly half reported to the chief executive officer, only a third of the w o m e n believed they had any significant influence on policy-making in their organizations. It is difficuIt with a seIfreporting instrument to get a true reading on an item such as influence on policy. To illustrate the contradictions that can emerge: 23.6 percent of those who did not list advising management as a principal function believed they had a great deal of influence on policy. In fact, 13.6 percent of those who did not list advising management as a function, and did not report to the chief executive, also reported having influence on policy. It's not clear from this study h o w these respondents made their perceived influence felt. Most of the respondents seem to have worked their w a y u p to their current positions through on-the-job experience and have not depended on educational qualifications or professional development to advance their careers. James Grunig and Todd Hunt suggest that practitioners must continue their educations through professional development and graduate study if management positions are to be filled from inside the ranks of public relations. 6 Although more than 50 percent of the women in this study said they were willing to accept a promotion, if Grunig and Hunt are correct, promotion to senior management may not be a realistic goal for the majority of the w o m e n studied. Grunig and Hunt report that there is a growing appreciation for the role of public relations in organizations, but that management indicates a lack of confidence in the people who practice that role. Chief executives complain that public relations people are held back by a narrow educational specialization and a lack of knowledge of business operations. 7 Although half of the respondents in this study worked in the private sector, a very small percentage held degrees in business or actively sought out professional development in the management field.

ProFde: Canadian Women Because of the small numbers of owner-presidents in this sample, it is unwise to make generalizations about this group. However, w o m e n who choose the entrepreneurial route invite study. Are they starting their own consulting firms because they can't get promotions in male-dominated consulting firms? Do they lack the educational qualifications and experience to compete successfully? Or are they, as one of my respondents put it, looking for a more balanced life style?

I am an independent public relations consultant who moved from a senior government communications position in order to accommodate family and career. Having consulted for three years, I am n o w established and am able to accommodate the two lifestyles with approximately 30 hours of work per week. On occasion, I work up to 40 h(':Jrs per week. For me, this has been a rewarding experience. As well I believe I have rounded out m y career by moving in this direction. Although this study did not explore perceived bias in the workplace, Theus reports that w o m e n in journalism and public relations careers perceive more bias than men perceive or admit. 8 Unpublished data collected by Jon White, who studied the professional development needs of the membership of the CPRS in 1981, showed that more men earn higher salaries? Lea Stewart and William Gudykunst have found that w o m e n in management may be given more promotions but less authority and lower salaries than their male counterparts. 1° Comments volunteered by w o m e n in this study suggest a common theme of perceived bias: There is male chauvinism aplenty in the upper echelons of corporations and especially in the profession itself. In the CPRS, the term "senior practitioner" is synonymous with the word male. Too often I notice that at planning sessions, the lone female (me) is also representing the lowest managerial level. Management does not give as much recognition to w o m e n as policy advisors as they do male counterparts. Why should my husband earn double my salary with roughly comparable education/experience/talent? H o w to isolate the effect of gender is the toughie. Further research needs to be done to answer the question raised by the last respondent. The respondents to this study included few women working in the government sector (15.6 percent). In 1981, there were at least 439 w o m e n working in public relations positions in the federal service alone. Does the profile of w o m e n public relations professionals working in the public sector differ significantly from those working in the private sector? Will young w o m e n moving into the field, with higher educational levels than the w o m e n studied here have attained, advance any faster or further? 45

Public Relations Review A l t h o u g h this s t u d y d o e s n o t a n s w e r t h e s e q u e s t i o n s , it h e l p s to d e f i n e the s i t u a t i o n of w o m e n w o r k i n g in p u b l i c relations in C a n a d a a n d p r o v i d e s a basis for m e a s u r i n g f u t u r e c h a n g e s in t h e profile. References 1Kathryn T. Theus, "Gender Shifts in Journalism and Public Relations," Public Relations Review, Vol. IX, No. 1 (Spring 1985), pp. 42-50. 2CPRS National Newsletter, "Women in Public Relations," Vol. 7, No. 4 (March 1984) p. 4. ~Don Bates, "Will Women Inherit the Profession?" Public Relations Journal, Vol. 39, No. 7 0uly 1983), p. 6. Taul V. Peterson, "1984 Survey: No Change in Mass Comm Enrollments," Journalism Educator, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Spring 1985), pp. 3-9. ~Glen M. Broom, "A Comparison of Sex Roles in Public Relations," Public Relations Review, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Fall 1982), pp. 17-22. 6James E. Grunig and Todd Hunt, Managing Public Relations (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984), p. 538. 7Ibid, p. 537. 8Kathryn T. Theus, op. cit., pp. 42-50. 9Jon White, Mount Saint Vincent University, private communication, 1981. Unpublished data collected for the "Professional Development Needs Analysis Study of the Canadian Public Relations Society" by White and the Advanced Management Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, June 1982. 1°Lea Stewart and William Gudykunst, "Differential Factors Influencing the Hierarchical Level and Number of Promotions of Males and Females within an Organization," Academy of Management Journal, (September 1982), pp. 586--597.

Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education The Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization, established by members of the Public Relations Society of America in 1956, to foster, sponsor, and conduct basic research and study in the general field of public relations. For more information about the Foundation contact: Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education Room 1816 30 East 42nd Street New York, N e w York 10017

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