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Toth Aldoory 2001 PR Gender Study
Toth Aldoory 2001 PR Gender Study
Toth Aldoory 2001 PR Gender Study
Web-ster's Note: The survey reported here was conducted in early 2000, and followed by focus groups conducted in six cities. The
content of the Appendices have been reformatted slightly for publication on the web.
This study was funded, in part, by a grant from the Public Relations Society of America.
Executive Summary
The recent PRSA Salary Survey reported that the current demographic in the profession is
70% women and 30% men. This reflects a steady increase of women entering public relations
over the past 20 years, and a possible influence on how public relations is perceived. Due to
this, PRSA initiated a series of trend studies starting in 1990. This report summarizes the
findings from the Year 2000 Gender Study, and compares it to the findings from a similar
study conducted in 1995. In 2000, we studied issues that were still of concern after five years:
salary, a glass ceiling for women, hiring, sexual harassment, roles, and job satisfaction.
With salary, a significant difference exists between men and women, where men average
about $17,000 more than women. We found that this gender difference remained even after
years of experience, age, job interruptions and education were accounted for.
In terms of promotion, we found that participants are more unsure now than they were five
years ago about the existence of a glass ceiling for women. Participants did agree that women
are still hired for more technical positions than managerial ones. This finding coincided with
our analysis of roles, where we found that women were doing more technician tasks, and men
were doing more managerial tasks. In 2000, both women and men are mixing managerial and
technical tasks, where in 1995, only women seemed to be doing it all. With job satisfaction,
men were more satisfied than women with their income and their autonomy on the job. Over
time, women have become more satisfied with such factors as job security, whereas men
showed greater satisfaction with opportunities for advancement.
We introduced two new topics for the 2000 study, leadership traits and perceptions about
work and family balance. Participants believed that good leaders did not use rewards as
incentives, challenged traditional ways, and practiced participative management. Participants
also agreed that employees with children face barriers other employees do not. Women more
strongly believed that it was harder for them than for men to juggle work and family. Finally,
we also found that participants who have no children believed that public relations employees
with children at home produced less quality work.
Some of the data, such as those on the glass ceiling and hiring, show promise for changing
the face of public relations. However, the salary discrepancy illustrates the need for continued
vigilance in the field and increased awareness about discrimination. This report ends with
some suggestions for PRSA from participants in the focus groups, and some steps for future
action.
Results
In general, the average participant was a 40-year-old, married female with a bachelor's degree
who has worked in public relations for a little over 13 years. The average, overall salary
equaled $60,935 (Please see Tables 1 and 2 for demographics from the 1995 and 2000 study
and for both males and females).
After the survey was completed and findings were analyzed, we shared the findings with
focus group participants to obtain more in-depth understanding. Below we summarize the
findings from the surveys and focus groups (please see Appendix A for details of the
methodological procedures and instruments used for the study).
Salaries
2000 Data
Overall, the average salary for survey participants totaled $60,935. There was a significant
difference in salary between men and women, where men's average was higher than overall
average and women's was a little lower: average salary for men was $73,700, and average
salary for women was $56,000 (Please see Table 3 for salary differences by gender and by
year).
When looking at median salary, or the middle point in salary range, there was still a
significant difference of $17,000. Men's median salary was $65,000 and women's median
salary was $48,000.
The findings revealed that years of public relations experience and job interruptions
accounted for some of the salary differences found between males and females. Of particular
note, however, statistical tests showed that even when years of experience, job interruptions,
age and education level were accounted for, gender still made a significant impact on salary
where men still made significantly more than women. Age and education level were found
not to be significant factors at all in the salary difference.
Table 1: Percentages for gender, race and education by year and gender.
Variables % N
Gender
1995 661
Male 36.5%
Female 63.5
2000 853
Male 28.9
Female 71.1
Race
1995 595
White, European American 95.0%
Black, African American 2.2
Hispanic, Latino .3
Asian, Pacific Islander .7
Native American 1.8
2000 781
White, European American 89.1%
Black, African American 3.3
Hispanic, Latino 1.9
Asian, Pacific Islander .6
Native American 1.0
Mixed and other ethnicities 4.1
Education
1995 661
High school or less .6%
Some college 4.1
Bachelor's degree 63.3
Master's degree 29.2
Doctoral degree 2.7
2000 853
High school or less 0.0
Some college 2.7
Bachelor's degree 64.0
Master's degree 30.3
Doctoral degree 3.0
Table 2: Means for salary, age, and years of experience by year and gender.
Variables Mean N
Salary
Years of PR Experience
Looking at perceptions of salary, men were significantly more satisfied with their income as a
public relations practitioner than women were. Also, men disagreed that women receive
lower salaries for doing comparable work, while women slightly agreed with this statement.
The average salary for participants in 1995 equaled $53,250, with men's average being
$64,585 and women averaging $46,912. Looking across time, there was a statistically
significant increase of almost $10,000 in average salaries for women, but not for men (see
Table 3).
The median salaries across time between men and women also continued to be sizably
different. In 1990, men made $18,000 more than women; in 1995, there was a $15,000
difference; and the year 2000 resulted in a $17,000 difference in median salaries.
In terms of perceptions across time, there were no main differences about salary. Overall, the
same differences found between men and women in 1995 were found in 2000.
Focus Groups
In general, male participants said they did not believe there was a salary discrepancy, while
female participants shared several personal stories of discrimination. However, the same male
participants who disagreed with a salary discrepancy admitted later to knowing that they
received higher salaries than comparable female colleagues or that they themselves paid
women less when hiring them. The male participant who hired a woman at lower salary
explained, "I knew what both of them made at their previous jobs. And so, you sort of make
your best deal going in. And there would be a difference there."
The female participants felt that men would not perceive the salary disparity because they
don't experience it. Some of the women spoke of offering more money to attract men because
of the gender imbalance in public relations. One woman said, "You almost will pay them a
little bit more because you need the balance throughout."
Some of the women in the groups and some men said that women in public relations lack the
negotiation skills necessary to request higher salaries. One woman commented, "On two
different occasions, I was offered a position, and on two different occasions, I got the
negotiation skills I learned from a man (emphasis by participant).
Gender
Year
2000 Data
Overall, survey participants generally were "uncertain" and "not sure" of the effects of a glass
ceiling, a metaphor for the idea that women face barriers to promotion in the profession.
However, there were significant differences in perceptions when men and women were
compared. In their own organizations as well as throughout public relations, women more
than men agreed that men are promoted more quickly and that it is more difficult for women
to reach the top.
The findings in 2000 were similar to the findings in 1995, in that women agreed more
strongly that it was difficult for women to be promoted. We also found that, in 1995, men and
women more likely agreed that it was hard for women to reach the top, whereas in 2000,
participants agreed less with this statement.
Focus Groups
Participants discussed the glass ceiling within the context of roles, workplace and life balance,
and promotion. Many felt that the glass ceiling was disappearing because men were
disappearing from the field altogether. One male participant said, "I think the glass ceiling
will naturally go away and the bigger question is what are they left with? An entire female
dominating industry. Then there will be some other kind of ceiling…" A woman commented,
"Women hold a lot of managerial positions and have a lot of power in the agencies."
However, this same woman continued, "I even get the feeling that when there are men who
do come in the agency, that they're sort of plucked, focused on and groomed for those
managerial positions." Other women expressed similar sentiments, that even with more
women entering the field, that men are promoted more quickly. Another woman said, "When
you get to the very high level, I see a big difference and typically the men at the high level,
they don't do any of the technical things anymore…"
Hiring
2000 Data
In general, participants agreed that women are significantly more likely to be hired for staff
or technical positions, and not for management positions. Participants also slightly disagreed
that an equally capable woman would be hired over a man for the same job, and disagreed
that women were hired as a result of affirmative action.
When men and women were compared, several significant differences were found. Women
more strongly agreed that women were likely to be hired for staff/technical positions. Though
less frequently than being hired for technical positions, when women are hired for
management positions, female participants agreed more than men that it occurs in their
organizations (but not throughout public relations).
In 1995, participants agreed more than they did in 2000 that women are hired due to
affirmative action policies. When measuring only men over time, no major differences were
found. For women, however, there was significantly less agreement that an equally capable
woman would be hired over a man in 2000.
Focus Groups
Male and female participants alike did not see hiring as an issue of discrimination against
women because more women were entering the profession. In fact, a couple participants
confessed to seeking out male hires. One man explained his admission of trying to hire men:
"We get a guy candidate, we have to take a look at this guy!…It's informal. I wouldn't say
anybody sat down and said we want to hire more men. It's probably not politic." Many female
participants agreed that hiring was no longer so much a problem, that instead, the focus
should be on the quick promotions of men rather than women to management positions.
When discussing Affirmative Action and its potential threat for prospective male employees,
one male respondent commented, "I don't feel threatened by any female counterpoint,…that I
didn't get it because I wasn't wearing a dress."
Sexual Harassment
2000 Data
In general, participants agreed that there is less sexual harassment in public relations today
than five years ago. Men agreed with this statement significantly more than women.
Over time, there was significantly more agreement that sexual harassment is less today.
Focus Groups
Sexual harassment was not discussed in-depth across all the focus groups. This could have
been due to the lack of focus by the researchers and moderators on this issue in the survey
questionnaire. In general, however, the male groups did not see sexual harassment as much of
a problem anymore, due to the heightened awareness and political incorrectness of it. A few
men discussed what they thought was a more urgent, current problem, that of women
dressing and acting inappropriately. One participant asserted, "Women appear to use
sexuality consciously or as a tool in the work place at the same time they collectively bemoan
sexual harassment." When this participant was asked if he felt it was just women who use
sexuality in this manner, he responded, "Well, everybody knows men who use personality
and charm and a certain degree of flattery with colleagues all the time, I mean, that's called
good interpersonal skills. But to use sexuality per se, I've never witnessed it."
The female groups, in general, viewed sexual harassment as still a concern, but also agreed
that women are being more aggressive in responding to inappropriate comments and behavior
with "banter" and suggestions. At least one focus group of women asked that sexual
harassment be discussed more in-depth in the future. One woman from this group asserted,
"You have to be ever vigilant. There really are dangers in thinking the problems have been
solved." >
Roles
2000 Data
As in the previous surveys, we asked participants to indicate how much time they spent
performing 17 different activities. Overall, a factor analysis revealed that the activities fell
into two basic role profiles, that of manager and technician. The following activities were
predominant in the public relations manager role: Counseling management; supervising the
work of others; conducting or analyzing research; making communication policy decisions;
planning and managing budgets; evaluating program results; and meeting with
clients/executives. The technician role, on the other hand, revealed very different tasks:
implementing decisions made by others; writing, editing, producing messages; disseminating
messages; making media contacts; meeting with peers; and handling correspondence and
making calls.
When we split the data by males and females, we found slightly different results. First, the
most predominant of the two role profiles for men was that of manager and the most
predominant for women was that of technician. This might be explained by years of
experience and age, both of which was found to be significantly greater for men.
We noted some differences in actual tasks performed by men and women. For example, for
the men, "meeting with peers" was a managerial task, whereas for women, meeting with
peers remained a task for technicians.
In previous surveys, female participants seemed to be doing it all, so that when they moved to
managerial roles, they continued to conduct technical tasks. The men in 1995 were more
distinct in the two role profiles, where men who moved to managerial positions gave up the
technical role. In 2000, however, survey findings showed more tasks that overlap across the
technician and manager roles for both men and women.
Focus Groups
Most participants regardless of gender said that they and their colleagues do it all, both
technical and managerial tasks, reflecting the overlap identified in the survey data.
Participants cited a variety of reasons for this current trend, such as new technology removing
technical tasks, lack of support staff, and the nature of agency public relations. One
participant who works in an agency said, "…There's just not enough people to divide the
tasks along the lines of managerial and non-managerial tasks, and so virtually everyone in the
agency does a wide variety of tasks."
However, a few women wanted to be clear that they still observed a disparity where men hold
managerial positions and do not engage in technical tasks and women either remain in
technician positions or move up to management but continue to conduct technician roles.
Some female participants said this may be due to discrimination, and others said it may be
due to women having trouble saying no to helping others with their work.
Job Satisfaction
2000 Data
When we looked at overall, average job satisfaction, we found little difference between men
and women. Both recorded being "satisfied" in general with their jobs in public relations.
We then looked at the 14 different questions detailing job satisfaction and found three areas
of difference. Men were significantly more satisfied than women with:
There were many distinctions between men and women when areas of job satisfaction were
compared over time. Female participants in 2000 showed significantly greater satisfaction
than women in the 1995 survey with:
Men also showed an increase in satisfaction over time with prospects for their future in the
field. However, other than this one area, men in 2000 illustrated increased satisfaction with
very different aspects of their jobs than the women did:
Focus Groups
Rather than discussing their own level of individual satisfaction, participants focused on how
satisfied they were with the reputation of the field in general. Many participants expressed
frustration over the field's lack of respect and prestige. One participant opined, "Simple, one-
word answer to what would make your position more satisfying: I think it's 'respect.' Those of
us in PR have always felt, forever, that we were under-appreciated…" Another remarked, "I
think the overall profession needs good public relations."
Some participants, however, argued that public relations is gaining more respect and value.
One man said it might be because of increased recognition among corporate clients, that
public relations has gained an acceptable role in business.
In addressing the particular increase in job satisfaction over time among women, some
participants saw this as a reflection of the feminization of the profession, which has made it
more comfortable for women to be in public relations today. Other participants responded
that autonomy was important for job satisfaction and women have gained more autonomy in
the field. A few of the male participants mentioned the "natural" inclination women have for
public relations, which would raise their job satisfaction. One participant, for example, said,
"Public relations is one of the fields that women could excel in. It had that natural way for
them to advance, because of the skills they had naturally were admired."
Leadership
We added statements on the 2000 questionnaire about leadership. These statements measured
participants' definitions of leadership in public relations, and attitudes about women in
leadership positions. We found that participants in general believed good leaders:
On average, women agreed with these statements significantly more than men did.
Participants believed that leaders were NOT:
emotionally involved,
in control at all times, or
born.
In particular, participants agreed that effective leaders do not use rewards as incentives. Also,
participants agreed that men and women can be equally capable leaders.
When men and women were compared, some interesting findings emerged. The women did
not see themselves as leaders as much as men did, and yet, the female participants believed
that women in general made better leaders than men. Women also agreed more than men that
the best leaders share decision-making power, that effective leaders have good rapport with
employees, and that leadership is about creating personal connections with employees. No
differences between men and women were found about the value of offering rewards and the
resistance to emotional involvement.
Focus Groups
The participants spent considerable time discussing leadership and its definitions.
Characteristics for good leaders included: good communication, listening, being fair and
balanced in decisions, a willingness to make decisions, the ability to inspire and motivate,
and a vision. Some participants wanted leaders who would teach and mentor.
In one group, male participants argued that rewards were critical to good leadership. One man
said, "We use rewards all the time…They can be monetary, they can be 'stand up and clap.'"
Other participants from this group agreed that monetary incentives were important rewards.
However, in another male group, monetary rewards were seen as a negative. One participant
responded, "Good leaders do not use rewards as incentives, but good leaders do reward you
with trust, with respect, with faith in our judgment. They back you, they support you, and
those are the kinds of rewards that are more valuable than money or other kinds of physical,
tangible types."
Gender differences in leadership did emerge as part of the discussions. Some of the female
participants said that men and women define leadership differently, which may lead to
differences in how the two sexes perceive leadership. A few men admitted that women are
perceived as less effective leaders due to societal norms. One man explained that "there's
never been a woman considered [for] the chairman or CEO…It is still a man's world." A
couple participants discussed some negative experiences with female supervisors, leading
them to believe that women made poor leaders. Some male participants, however, argued that
women made better leaders because, as one man put it, men were "cave men" and women
were "naturally" more empathetic to others' feelings.
Overall, about 40% of participants have children, with 17% having one child and 15% having
two children. Participants agreed that organizations should have parental leave policies, offer
flexible hours and offer flexible locations to employees. Participants also agreed that
expectations between employees with and without children should be the same. They slightly
disagreed that employees with children have more trouble being promoted, but agreed that
they face barriers other employees do not.
When comparing women and men, we found some differences. Women more strongly
believed that juggling work and family was harder for women, whereas men more strongly
believed that both men and women find it difficult to juggle work and family needs.
We also compared findings between practitioners who had children living at home and those
who did not. We found many significant differences in perceptions. In particular,
practitioners without children agreed much more with the statement that employees with
children produced less quality work. Those without children also agreed significantly more
with the statement that expectations of success for employees with children and for those
with no children should be the same. Those with children agreed much more strongly that
employees with children face barriers in the workplace other employees do not.
Focus Groups
There was rarely consensus within or between groups about issues involving work and family
balance. This may have been because strong opinions about work/family balancing seemed to
divide along lines of having children versus not having children, rather than along lines of
gender alone. Therefore, in one group, participants with children and participants without
children might not have felt comfortable discussing with each other their true feelings of
stress or discrimination in the workplace.
Differences between participants with children and participants without children emerged in
some of the focus groups. For example, one participant expressed frustration about having
colleagues with children not understand her life and responsibilities. She explained:
"…People would literally say to me, oh, well, you work hard, but I have children, and I was
like, I work a 15-hour day and I still got to do my school work when I get home, so you think
it's okay for me to work late because you have children…They didn't take my responsibility
as important as what they were doing."
A different participant described the political implications of leaving work on time. She said,
"There's an expectation that people will stay late and sniping when people leave on time.
Some women would leave a half an hour after closing time, and the rest of them would all
snipe about it. And you know, it was never the bosses." Another participant said she'd been
told that she would not be in line for a promotion until her children were older: "I have kids
and I leave at 5 o'clock and they're very understanding about me leaving at 5 o'clock, but it's
been pretty forthright told to me, nicely, because they are friendly people, that I'm not going
to be able to get a promotion anytime soon."
Both men and women recognized the need for flextime. One man said: "One of the best
employees we have has a child; and, you know, if I want to keep that employee, I've got to be
flexible with her to allow her to go to the school plays and those types of things.
In terms of gender, male and female participants agreed that it is still harder for women than
for men to juggle work and family. Some participants, though, talked about knowing male
colleagues who have taken paternity leave and have had to learn to balance work and family
also.
Make PRSA conferences more affordable, so that more individuals at lower level
positions could attend and learn valuable information for moving forward.
Add value to the cost of membership and be clear on benefits of membership. One
female participant commented, "The organization is only as good as its membership."
Coordinate public relations efforts for the profession and for PRSA itself.
Examine in more depth why minorities do not advance in the profession and why they
are not represented in PRSA. One reason was offered: "PRSA is very expensive, and
a lot of minorities are in government or non-profit."
Develop and facilitate more mentorship and networking opportunities.
The men in one group would like to see more professional development workshops
around the issues of gender and the profession. One participant in this group said,
"These are big, important issues, that cut in a lot of complicated directions."
Host professional development workshops on ethics, negotiation skills, and corporate
finance.
Conduct more PRSA teleconferences, which are not only very helpful, but very easy
to access.
Stop the fighting and start educating and promoting public relations.
One male participant suggested that PRSA should stop appearing to make an issue of
gender-related differences, and instead, focus on the profession as a whole. He said,
"What's the point, age study, experience study. These are relevant, I think. Gender is
not an issue."
This report is a summary of the findings from the survey and focus groups. We intend to
present this report to members of the Work, Life, and Gender Task Force and ask for
suggestions for distributing this information and conducting further data analysis. We expect
to present to the PRSA Board a set of recommendations from the Task Force at the next
PRSA national board meeting.
We received a total of 864 completed questionnaires, a 22% response rate. Using SPSS to
analyze the data, frequencies were first run for all demographic information. We found
similar characteristics in our sample to that of the PRSA membership on the whole, such as
proportion of gender, age, etc. Independent t-tests as well as ANOVAs assessed significant
mean differences between males and females in the 2000 survey and significant mean
differences between 1995 and 2000 data. Regression analysis was run to measure effects of
other variables in the relationship between gender and salary. Factor analysis was used to
determine how many roles (factors) emerged and what tasks explained those roles for women
and for men.
After the survey was analyzed, we conducted the focus groups to help interpret the survey
data. We held one male group in Portland, OR (a female group will be conducted by April),
and one male and one female group in New York, NY, and Washington, DC. Participants for
the focus groups were public relations practitioners who had a minimum of five years of
experience. Not all these participants were PRSA members. As incentives, we offered
participants a copy of the final report, dinner, and a donation to a national charity.
Moderators matched the sex of the groups they facilitated and received a detailed packet of
information (please see Appendix C, the training information and protocol used for the focus
groups). The co-researchers also moderated two of the groups.
The focus groups were tape recorded in order to grasp detail and exact quotes. We transcribed
the tapes and analyzed them for common themes as well as unique comments that emerged
from the discussions.
Appendix B: Survey Instrument
April, 2000
The PRSA Committee on Work, Life, and Gender Issues (formerly known as
Women in Public Relations Committee) is compiling vital information
about the men and women in public relations and the conditions under
which they work. This information will help PRSA to serve you better
and will be integral to understanding issues impacting the field in
the 21st century.
Sincerely,
Stephen D. Pisinski
Chair and Chief Executive Officer
......
1. We begin with a question about the type of work you do. Listed below
are some activities public relations people frequently perform. Thinking
of your job as a whole, rate each task on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0
indicates you never perform a particular function and 10 indicates you
devote 100 percent of your time to it. Please circle the most appropriate
answer.
PERFORM NEVER
TASK PERFORM
a. Counseling management 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
b. Supervising the work of others 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
c. Conducting or analyzing research 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
d. Planning public relations programs 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
e. Managing public relations programs 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
f. Making communication policy decisions 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
g. Implementing decisions made by others 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
h. Implementing new programs 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
i. Planning and implementing events 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
j. Planning and managing budgets 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
k. Writing, editing, producing messages 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
l. Disseminating messages 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
m. Evaluating program results 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
n. Making media contacts 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
o. Meeting with client/executives 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
p. Meeting with peers 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
q. Handling correspondence, making calls 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Please indicate the one category that best describes your organization.
__1. agency __5. education __7. other (please
__2. corporation __6. trade or prof assn explain)
__3. government/military
__4. health/welfare
COLUMN A COLUMN B
In Your Throughout
Organization PR
s. Are you financially responsible for the child care or parent care
in your household?
1.____yes 2.____no
u. Please indicate the age and relation to you of anyone else who
lives in your household:
Age:_____Relation:_____________ Age:_____Relation:_____________
Age:_____Relation:_____________ Age:_____Relation:_____________
v. If you have held gainful, full-time public relations employment since
your graduation from college or your 21st birthday (whichever came
later), has this public relations employment ever been interrupted?
1.___yes 2.___no
x. What is the longest period you have been without gainful public
relations employment since your 21st birthday or college graduation?
If you have had no interruptions in public relations employment, please
mark that.
1.___ less than 6 months 4.___3-5 years 7.___ more than 15 years
2.___ 7-12 months 5.___ 6-10 years 8.___ no employment
3.___ 1-2 years 6.___ 11-15 years interruptions
y. If your career was interrupted and you resumed working sometime later,
did you re-enter with the same public relations organization?
1.___ yes 2.___ no
aa. How many hours/week do you use the Internet or World Wide Web
to do research for work?_/week
bb. How many hours per week do you use the Internet or World Wide Web to
promote your organization's/client's messages? ______/week
cc. How many hours per week do you use e-mail? ______/week
dd. Do you use other types of new technology to accomplish your work?
1.____yes 2.____ no
If yes, what types and for what purposes? _________________________
ee. Please tell us the first three digits of your Zip Code: ___________
Name Tags: Please have the name tags prepared with the participants'
names in advance. The first name should be large and easily readable
from a distance; the surname should be in smaller letters underneath.
Do not include courtesy titles or professional designations such
as Ph.D. or APR.
Part 1: Introduction
Of these participants, 29% were males and 69% were female. The
median age of the males was 46 years; the median age of the females
was 36 years. The average years of professional experience for the
males was 17 years; for the females, the average was 10 years. The
majority of men and women held Bachelors degrees. The majority of men
and women worked either in public relations agencies or corporations.
Over 90% of the group described themselves as white, Caucasian,
European Americans. Three percent described themselves as black,
African Americans and 2% indicated they were Hispanic, Latino.
Less than 1% indicated they were Asian, Pacific Islander.
We will not, however, stop the tape. If you do not wish to have
your comment recorded, please do not make it.When you came in,
you received two copies of "Information for Subjects and Informed
Consent," and one copy of the "Demographic Profile" form.
If you have not turned those in, please do so now. Please keep one
copy of the Informed Consent form for your records.
Each page will contain the survey results at the top and a list
of suggested questions at the bottom. There are no right
or wrong answers, only points of view and perspectives.
Everyone's viewpoint is important.
Part 2: Roles
Questions:
Part 3: Salaries
The median salaries across time between men and women have
continued to be sizably different. In 1990, the men made $18,000
more than the women. In 1995, the men stagnated at $55,000 and the
women made up $3000; but there was still a difference of $15,000
between men and women in median salaries. In 2000, the men's
median salary was $65,000. The women's median salary was $48,000
-- a $17,000 difference.
First, the men disagreed more with the perception that generally
in their organizations and throughout public relations women receive
lower salaries than men for doing comparable public relations work.
Also, men disagreed that women in public relations management
positions are paid less than men in comparable jobs.
Questions:
Are there other comments you would make about salary issues?
they have good rapport with employees and enhance self worth of others,
Questions:
Do you have others that you believe are important for leadership in
public relations today?
Questions:
This year we also added new questions about the mix of workplace
and life issues.
--Women more strongly believe that juggling work and family needs
is harder for women than for men.
-- We also asked about sexual harassment and found that men more
strongly believed that there is less sexual harassment in PR
environments today than there was five years ago.
However, there were differences in 2000 between the men and women
in the sample on specific items. There were significant differences
between men and women in perceived satisfaction. Men were more
satisfied than women with "overall knowledge of public relations,"
with their" income as PR practitioners" and with their "autonomy and
freedom on the job."
Questions:
Women more strongly believed that women are more likely than
men to be hired for public relations staff positions
involving mainly technical, communication skills.
And more men believed that women often are hired as a result of
affirmative action policies.
Questions:
There were three items on the questionnaire about the glass ceiling
problem, of women facing barriers to advancement because of
their gender. Again, our participants disagreed with these
statements based on their gender.
First, men more strongly believed that men are promoted more quickly
than women in most PR positions, in their organization and throughout
public relations.
Second, more women than men disagreed that "usually in public relations,
employees with children living at home have more trouble being promoted
than other employees in your organization and throughout public
relations."
Questions:
Questions:
If you were sitting here today with the PRSA's national board of
directors and officers, and they asked your advice on how PRSA
could help improve its workplace and marketplace professional
development offerings to members, what counsel would you given them?
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