Women in PR: Arab Nations Perspective

I have mentioned right from the start that most of my research into the issue of gender and public relations will be limited in scope, as resources only allow me to concentrate on the PR industry in the US and the UK. Most of the academic literature available to me is focused on those two countries, and so is the English-language information on the Internet. But I’ve been encouraging visitors to this blog to share their experiences of working in other countries, and have so far received interesting observations from my colleagues in the Pacific and Ukraine. Hopefully, more of you will enlighten me about the situation in your countries!

Well, this week I came across an article suggesting that the PR industry in Arab countries is no longer dominated by men (“PR Job No More Male Dominated”, Bahrain Tribune, March 13, 2007).



The article quotes Zahra’a Taher, the founder and Managing Director of T&M Eventscom (“one of the region’s leading public relations and event management companies”) and the “Bahraini PR Guru”:

“From my personal experience in setting up T&M Eventscom, I have discovered that we women in the Kingdom of Bahrain are very fortunate to have such strong support from the government and NGOs, which allow us to excel in all sectors – including the PR and media industry. Moreover, desktop surveys reveal that the Arab PR sector is largely dominated by women.”

In fact, Zahra’a even “believes that women [in Arab nations] face no more challenges in the PR industry than men”!

Now, Robert French of PR blog infOpinions? appeared quite surprised by the article, as, in his own words, “in male-dominated cultures, such as some Arab states, one might think that women are still shut out of the job marketplace.” I personally doubt that Arab women are shut out completely (there are a couple of female students from Arab nations in my MA course, some with experience of working in the PR industry, and I’m sure they wouldn’t be here if there was no market for female PR practitioners back home), and it could well be possible that they now outnumber men, however I am still unsure of whether these women are indeed in the same position as their male colleagues. Could it be that our female Arab colleagues do not have to deal with the same issues as Western women? Or is Ms Taher painting an overly optimistic picture of the Arab PR industry?

Robert French certainly makes a good point by highlighting that

“All that being said, one reality seems not to have changed. A male, Thamer Khamis Al-Muqla, is the CEO of T&M Eventscom. So, Arab PR practice may be developing the same characteristics of US PR practice. Men dominate in PR management and ownership. Women dominate in PR practice and direct client services.”

What do you think? Would be also interesting to see what my colleagues from the Arab states have to say.

Are Stereotypes Holding Women Back? (Part 2: PR Bunnies)

Stereotypical public relations practitioners – the fluffy and ditzy ones – are often referred to as the so-called PR Bunnies. This is a label that appears to drive women working in the PR industry mad. I am not sure of the exact origins of the name, but according to Tara Smith of Marketing Communications blog, the Bunnies were first mentioned in a series of US press articles written during the dot-com craze, covering “annoying Bunny traits”, ranging from “breathless calls to the media hyping some new e-product” to “the hottest new trend in PR: rich executives marrying their much younger, very attractive PR reps”. Smith actually believes that these stereotypes had some element of truth to them, as at the time

“PR firms were so short-staffed that they were hiring whoever walked in the door and providing little or no training… Since the majority of people in PR are female anyways… well, you can see what happened.”



In her blog entry titled “How NOT to be a PR Bunny” Smith goes on to give tips on for anyone who is “interested in doing [their] part to combat the poor image of women in PR and wants to avoid being mistaken for a PR bunny”. While most of her recommendations are quite obvious, easily applicable to any professional field, I do think that Smith gives some excellent, well-written advice which should be checked out by anyone working or planning to work in the PR industry. And judging by the amount of positive comments her entry generated, many current as well as aspiring PR practitioners found her advice very useful.

Smith’s tips include dressing professionally and appropriately, being always well-prepared for meetings in advance, knowing your pitch backwards and forwards, being punctual, always participating in meetings, letting people know that you are serious about your career and volunteering to help. She also warns against wearing high heels to a trade show, taking advantage of the bar at events or in any other business-related setting, getting romantically involved with co-workers and clients or even giving others a reason to suspect you might be, gossiping and crying at the office. Above all, Smith argues that, if you are a woman, in order to survive in the PR field, you have to grow a thick skin.

“Because of the stereotypes around women in PR/marketing, you will often find yourself surrounded by men who will

a) talk down to you (sometimes without even realizing it)
b) completely disregard what you have to say (particularly when you are younger)
and/or
c) hit on you

It’s annoying and sometimes extremely offensive, but don’t take it personally. That said, if you run into any serious problems that could be categorised as sexual harassment, report it to your supervisor and/or talk to someone in your human resource department”.


Finally, just to demonstrate that the label of a PR Bunny is still very much of a current issue, Robert French of infOpinions? blog sparked a debate last year by criticising Canada-based practitioners PRGirlz for their choice of name for their blog, claiming the term “girls”, when used to refer to grown women, is derogatory and may serve to reinforce the stereotype of PR Bunnies – “vacuous little pretty girls as office dressing and shuffled off to perform clerical duties deemed to be beneath PR management, which is most often male”. He concludes that:

“There are too many contemptuous perceptions of PR and those that practice it. Why play into the stereotype?”

I personally feel that comments like his do even more to reinforce the existing stereotypes. Perhaps if people were less critical of women in public relations, the practitioners could demonstrate what they are really worth professionally. But if women cannot even refer to themselves as “girls” on a blog without their professional credibility being questioned, how are we ever going to get rid of the stereotypes?

What do you think?

P.S.

I’ve spent the whole of today trying to come up with a female PR character who is portrayed differently from the mainstream. Any suggestions? So far I can only think of one: Hazel from Footballers’ Wives, who was responsible for handling PR for a football club. Embarrassing as it is, I was actually addicted to that show, which probably does not do much for highlighting my intelligence! Anyway, I’m not sure whether Hazel could actually be used as an example of a refreshing alternative to typical characters, as she was sharp, ambitious, power-driven, very stereotypically homosexual, pushy, selfish and a bully. I would say she was at the other end of the extreme! Then again, Hazel was leading a ridiculously glamorous lifestyle, full of parties and drugs.

If any of you can think of other alternatives, let me know!

Are Stereotypes Holding Women Back? (Part 1: Let’s Blame Samantha Jones)

Isn’t it ironic that professionals for whom dealing with reputation and public perception is their bread and butter are so helpless when it comes to managing their own image? This was certainly the first thought on my mind as I was contemplating a discussion of female PR stereotypes.

I have mentioned before that some believe the public relations field is so attractive to women because it is associated with a party lifestyle and perceived as a “soft” career option, something that does not require much effort on behalf of the worker. Now there are many various stereotypical perceptions of PR practitioners, including being manipulative, unethical, insensitive, pushy, etc. However, when it comes to women in PR, most of the stereotypes in the popular culture tend to revolve around two notions:

1.Public relations is a glitzy and lucrative work, which involves attending the hottest parties, mingling with A-list celebrities and earning huge sums of money at the same time.

2.Female PR practitioners are not particularly sophisticated or career-oriented, but more likely to be ditzy, fluffy air-heads obsessed with partying, shopping and dating.

Examples of characters which represent both of the above notions are many. Bridget Jones, Gwyneth Paltrow’s character Helen in Sliding Doors, Eddy in Ab Fab, Heidi in MTV’s The Hills, and more recently, the much criticised MTV’s reality TV show PowerGirls (see Coombs and Holladay 2007: 16-17). But the cream of the crop has to be Samantha Jones from Sex and the City. In fact, if I were to ask you to think of any female PR character in film or television, I am pretty certain that the majority of you will remember Samantha straight away. Well, I have to inform you that (perhaps unsurprisingly!) most of those blogging on PR issues use pretty harsh words when referring to Miss Samantha Jones.

“With apologies to Samantha Jones, this person reinforces the flaky, hollow publicist image we’ve all cringed at seeing on TV. As if public relations is nothing more than a series of parties, ribbon cuttings and ground breakings”, rages one.

“I blame Hollywood for glorifying the public relations field. How many young women have gone unsuspecting into PR because of Samantha from Sex and the City?”, questions another one.

Now I have to admit that I have not actually watched PowerGirls, but the reaction it attracted among PR practitioners (both male and female) in the blogosphere was enormous. The show, which flopped in the US, followed the lives of four young women who competed for a permanent position at a New York celebrity PR firm. Critics felt the show was reinforcing female PR stereotypes and projecting a false picture of the field. Before the show even started, Tom Murphy of PR Opinions blog commented:

“Just when you think it can’t get any worse…, a far more sinister threat to the profession of Public Relations emerges… PowerGirls the long awaited MTV reality show kicks off… I’m sure the show will mirror the daily grind of a job in PR. Coming in grumpy in the morning, wading through 6,000 e-mails, answering voice-mails, cup of coffee, read the papers… I have a feeling that Power Girls may skip some of the more mundane stuff.”

Judging by the “reviews” among the practitioners, he was right!

But it is not only the bloggers who are frustrated with these unrepresentative portrayals. A study by Miller (1999) analysing the representation of PR field in film and fiction, dating from 1930 to 1995, found that misconceptions about and stereotypes of PR practitioners are indeed prevalent, and interestingly these portrayals have remained the same over many decades. The researcher classified these stereotypes into several categories, and “likeable but ditzy” is the first on her list. Miller emphasizes the importance of these representations, arguing that “although movies and novels are not mirrors of reality, they do offer a view of PR to people who have had no personal experience with its practitioners” (Miller, K. S. (1999) “Public Relations in Film and Fiction: 1930 to 1995” in Journal of Public Relations Research, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 3-28).

From my experience, the “party girl” stereotype used in popular culture does have an impact on how the public view women in PR. But what do you personally think? Could these stereotypical portrayals be taken seriously or are they just something to be laughed at? More importantly, are they potentially damaging to the image of female PR practitioners in particular and PR field as a whole? Are PR bloggers justified in their criticism of and frustration with these representations?

The Rise of Mommy Bloggers

While doing more research on female PR practitioners and blogging, I came across an interesting new movement currently taking place in the blogoshere – something that has become known as “Mommy Blogs”. It all started with Dooce (real name Heather B. Armstrong), an American mommy who was fired because her blog became more popular than the company she worked for. She never challenged her termination, however a fierce debate about privacy issues started as a result. Armstrong is now so famous that her nickname has become a neologism: being “dooced” refers to losing one’s job as a result of something one wrote on the Internet.


The mommy blog community is now growing by the day, both in numbers and influence. It demonstrates that women are powerful communicators and is fast becoming a place where people are turning to seek access for their messages. Dooce even posts press releases on her website. And marketers have already taken notice of this new phenomenon. As pointed out by Rohit Bhargava on his Influential Interactive Marketing blog, with the help of blogging these women can now easily connect with each other and create online communities. They represent an influential audience, and marketers are increasingly trying to develop personal relationships with the leaders among them. Guy Kawasaki, one of the original Apple employees responsible for marketing the Makintosh in the 1980s, is maintaining a rapidly expanding Ultimate Mommy Blog list. Even large corporations are participating. For instance, Johnson & Johnson (an Ogilvy client) is launching a mom blogger directory.

According to Michael Sommermeyer, a PR strategist and writer, mommy blogs will become a channel for groups seeking access to targeted audience, which will lead to more PR campaigns in collaboration with mommy bloggers. Sommermeyer sees a cottage industry emerging, with mommy bloggers aiding in generating buzz and promoting viral marketing.

Generally, there are large female bloggers networks emerging, devoted to the women on the Web. One of them, Blog Sisters, was founded by a female PR practitioner. Other examples include BlogHer, BlogsbyWomen and BlogSheroes.

Balance: How Important Is It?

There are increasing concerns among critics and PR practitioners over whether a large number of women in PR is unhealthy for the field. Many believe that a workplace dominated by women does not function as well as a workplace with representatives of both genders could have functioned. There have been a number of suggestions for tackling this issue, i.e attracting more men into the industry. Some feel harsh measures are needed, like offering men higher salaries than women for doing the same job, or hiring a less-qualified man over a more qualified woman. Others propose implementing special programmes, such as internships or developmental assignments, to bring men into the profession, as well as attracting more male students to the PR educational courses.

Personally I think balance is important in every field, and both men and women can bring different aspects into the working environment. But I do not believe large numbers of women are a serious threat to the successful functioning of the PR field. If women posses good traits for the profession, then why should not they be doing a job which suits them best and which they feel comfortable in? At the same time, I still feel the industry should not abandon its efforts to lure more men, as long as these efforts do not include extreme methods like positive discrimination. The PR field might learn from the examples of successful efforts of other industries, like medicine, law and business, where women used to be severely underrepresented, to bring more of them in, and apply these strategies to attract men.

As about prejudices against female workers, it is a shame if some employers or clients still feel that hiring a male representative would equal a job better done, but I feel this attitude is already shifting as time goes by, so I do not think it seriously harms the perception of the PR field. After all, as long as organisations and people need PR services, they will use these services… And as we all know, PR is now more in demand than ever!

Female PR Bloggers in the Minority?

Another puzzling development in PR which I came across while doing my research was the fact that, in a profession largely dominated by women, the majority of PR blogs are authored by men. The number of quality blogs tracking the practice of public relations is growing rapidly, however women have been slow to catch up with men. This is unfortunate, as by missing out on blogging female practitioners miss out on a helpful business tool which allows them to connect with their peers, broaden their professional network, keep informed on the industry and take part in debates about issues in the PR field.

According to a 2006 article in the PRSA’s (Public Relations Society of America) Strategist magazine, written on the subject of the gender blogging divide, one of the factors driving the disparity could be the difference in how men and women approach the Internet. Research shows that men are indeed more tech-savvy, and this could provide an initial advantage in using blogs, which, until recently, required a great deal of technical skill to navigate. However, today the tools and software are considerably easier to use, so hopefully women will participate more in the future.

The author of the article, Kami Watson Huyse, makes an interesting point by stressing that blogging is still mostly a personal activity, and even when it is used for professional advantage, employers are often not willing to pay for the time and commitment required to create and maintain a blog. As a result, women who are already overloaded at work and home might feel discouraged from blogging. In order to overcome these obstacles, Huyse suggests maintaining a group blog. She gives two successful examples of group PR blogs with female contributors in the US – Byline, PRSA San Antonio Chapter’s blog, and Multicultural, Edelman’s blog.

For anyone of you interested in female bloggers out there, here is a list of PR blogs authored by women: http://www.bloglines.com/public/kamichat