{"id":13447,"date":"2025-04-10T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/?p=13447"},"modified":"2025-04-09T09:50:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T13:50:31","slug":"a-look-back-into-womens-history-month-womens-voices-in-public-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/10\/a-look-back-into-womens-history-month-womens-voices-in-public-relations\/","title":{"rendered":"A Look Back Into Women’s History Month: Women’s Voices in Public Relations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Women\u2019s History Month is in March, a month that celebrates all of the achievements of women over the past years. This also includes all the work that women have played in shaping the field of the PR industry into what it is today. Currently, about 70% of PR professionals are women, which indicates this industry is where various opportunities to elevate women\u2019s voices and push for gender equality lea<\/s>d to inclusive representation in the media world (PRSA, 2023). Despite this strong presence, women still continue facing challenges in leadership roles, pay equity\u200b\u200b and recognition for their contributions (Global Women in PR, 2022). Women\u2019s History Month is not just a time to celebrate but also a moment to advocate for meaningful change in the PR industry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women’s Impact in PR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Historically, the PR industry has been shaped by women through leading transformative campaigns, changing public perception, and navigating crisis communications. Doris Fleischman, \u200bBetsy Plank\u200b\u200b\u200b and Ivy Ledbetter Lee are some early pioneers who created the groundwork for this profession, breaking barriers and redefining the meaning of communication. Doris Fleishman was one of a few people who established PR in the early 20th century yet often remained in the shadows of her male colleagues due to societal norms (Freedman, 2016). Besty Plank, the \u201cFirst Lady of PR,\u201d strongly advocated education and leadership equity in the PR industry (Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, 2021).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, many female professionals continue to enter the industry, making it a space where storytelling is diverse in media. Their impacts include corporate social responsibility initiatives, crisis management\u200b and digital communications, helping the industry engage with consumers and stakeholders more inclusively (Institute for Public Relations, 2022). As the industry continues to evolve, women\u2019s leadership is crucial to expanding industry standards to be more inclusive and representative.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gender Gap in PR Leadership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although many female professionals dominate PR, men still hold leadership positions. Many studies show that while female professionals take up most entry-level and mid-level roles, male professionals are in charge of executive and C-suite roles. This creates an issue where unconscious bias, limited mentorship opportunities\u200b and system barriers stop women\u2019s career journeys.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PR is a powerful tool that can make a difference in this ongoing challenge, and PR professionals and firms are responsible for addressing this conversation. Authentic storytelling, partnership with women-led nonprofit organizations\u200b,<\/s>\u200b and a strong commitment to \u200bbelonging, equity, diversity and inclusion\u200b\u200b can lead to long-term improvements. For example, PR experts can help close the gender gap through various PR initiatives, such as spotlighting women\u2019s stories when working with a brand (Edelman Trust Barometer, 2023). PR firms should create more mentorship and leadership programs and advance the firm\u2019s policies to ensure fair career equity and lower the chance of pay disparities (Women in PR North America, 2023). These initiatives are important to women employees and consumers that expect transparency\u200b. In addition, many consumers only invest in companies that genuinely care about gender equality and understand the importance of BEDI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future is our commitment to progress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The PR industry should continue working toward a future where women from all backgrounds feel \u200bre\u200bpresented and empowered. This is because the success of this industry depends on us, current and future professionals, who influence diverse perspectives and leadership in our society. As \u200bBetsy\u200b\u200b Plank once said, \u201c\u200bPR is about human nature, and it thrives on inclusion, communication, and shared success.\u201d Now that Women\u2019s History Month has ended, let\u2019s hope for continued progress toward more achievements of women in the future of the PR industry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Uyen Ngo, a senior at Purdue University, is pursuing dual majors in public relations and sales management. Vietnamese by birth, her strong commitment to diversity, equity\u200b and inclusion motivates her to be involved as vice president of belonging, equity, diversity\u200b and inclusion (BEDI) for the academic year 2024-2025. Uyen is genuinely interested in connecting with individuals and learning from their experiences. She aspires to bring her PR background, contribute to creating an inclusive environment\u200b\u200b and share her knowledge with the upcoming generation. Feel free to chat with her on her LinkedIn.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Women\u2019s History Month is in March, a month that celebrates all of the achievements of women over the past years. This also includes all the work that women have played in shaping the field of the PR industry into what it is today. Currently, about 70% of PR professionals are women, which indicates this industry is where various opportunities to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":13448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2893,3412],"tags":[3572],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13447"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13449,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13447\/revisions\/13449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}