Feminism in PR

Our debate in class was "Women will always work in PR but never run it."

I found this topic very difficult to argue as in debates the use of "always" and "never" should not be used as they cannot be proved or disproved in any way. If the topic was "Women will work in PR but will not hold executive positions within the next ten years" it would make more sense.

My group was affirmative and our reasearch proved to be quite interesting.

"Only 2% of executive directors in the UK are female, a figure that compares with the US. "

Glenda Stone, of Busygirl.co.uk ("...a network that aims to promote the economic advancement of women")says Until women go from Page 3 to Page 1, things won't improve.

Dr Singh who is currently working on the 2nd edition of the female FTSE index claims that the glass ceiling is merely shifting upwards. She also believes bosses are more likely to cut out their female staff as they believe that men are more likely to be the main bread winner in the families.

Maternity leave is also a worry for some execs, says the BBC. CEO's are wary to give high power positions to women as they may desire to take maternity leave at some point, leaving the position open and in need of temporary arrangements. Having to get someone to cover you for 6months to a year who is responsible enough and trustworthy is quite a gamble.

As it was difficult to show hard evidence that women will never run the PR industry, I feel we came up with some good reasons as to why the rise of women in the PR world will be a slow and difficult one.