PR and Gender Equity

Caption: Facebook COO questions the lack of female leaders in her famous TED Talk, which inspired her book, “Lean In.”

Gender plays an important role in Grunig’s Excellence Study, which led to the Excellence Theory, because of “the growing number of women in public relations and because of evidence that women had difficulty entering managerial roles — thus limiting the number of knowledgeable public relations professionals available for a strategic role.” (Grunig, “Furnishing the Edifice,” 161)

Grunig went on to state, “We found that organizations with excellent public relations valued women as much as men for the strategic role and developed programs to empower women throughout the organization.” (Grunig, “Furnishing the Edifice,” 161) It is important to note that a gender gap in the world of PR management does not exist on its own, but rather, highlights a universal problem in the dominant coalitions of the corporate world, no matter the field. When we are discussing professionals working as a strategic management function within their field, which is a core focus of Grunig’s Excellence Theory, the gap becomes even more pronounced and equality is harder to achieve at the executive level. According to a 2010 Forbes report, “the number of women in C-suite positions decreased to 9.8% last year, from 10.3% in 2008, according to a new study of large public companies in the New York City area by the Financial Women’s Association. In addition, according to the study, the number of companies with no women among their most highly compensated executives increased more than 12% to 65 from 58.” (Hymowitz, “Gender gap in America’s top ranks,” Forbes)

This is in part due to the institutionalized support of men in powerful positions with the help of other men opening doors for them to succeed. This gender gap specifically affects women in public relations and their ability to live out the Excellence Theory. If women are held back from reaching a strategic management role, they will not be able to be as effective in terms of delivering impact with their PR efforts and skills, and certainly will not be able to fully manifest Grunig’s Excellence Theory within their own work. By leaving women out of the top power structure of an organization, a company is only holding itself back. “The business case for having more women in senior positions at corporations is clear. Quite simply, women bring a different perspective to the work world. Multiple studies have found a correlation between corporate performance and the percentage of women on boards, regardless of the industry.” (Hewlitt, “What women need to advance,” Forbes) Including women at the executive table translates into bigger profits for a company.

One program used throughout many corporations in an effort to increase diversity and gender equity at the strategic management level is through internal mentoring programs. Leaders of a company will often focus on a group of employees that show great potential, and pair them with top-level leaders as a way to groom them for advancement in the company. A corporate female executive that I recently interviewed during a freelance project stated that even within mentoring programs, women are often matched with other senior women, while men are often paired with another man at a higher level. The man then becomes the one who has access to the executive leadership and board, and thus, begins establishing relationships with people who will secure his executive future. In this way, men are building strategic relationships that can lead them to the strategic management function because they had literal doors opened for them that were immediately closed for the woman when her mentor was chosen for her. This is just one example of the ongoing obstacles that women face in gaining access to leadership roles in the corporate setting. Companies that take the steps to close the gender gap have legitimate economic reasons to do so that go beyond the fact that it is morally the right thing to do. “Having a diverse team is vital not only to success, but also to innovation. With women consumers making the majority of purchasing decisions across the globe, corporations looking to stay on the cutting edge of their industries are well advised to cultivate gender diversity.” (Hewlitt, “What women need to advance,” Forbes)

Receiving sponsorship within an organization is a critical step and another tool women can use to work toward reaching the strategic management function of a company. The differences between mentorship and sponsorship are strong. “To get ahead, women need to acquire a sponsor — a powerfully positioned champion — to help them escape the ‘marzipan layer,’ that sticky middle slice of management where so many driven and talented women languish.” (Hewlitt, “Mentors are good. Sponsors are better,” New York Times) In a sense, women have to pay attention to their own personal brand and personal public relations strategy in order to climb the corporate ladder.

Through sponsorship, women are essentially receiving an endorsement from a powerful, high-level employee who can vouch for their skills and potential directly to top leaders, creating a strong basis for their path to upper level management in the eyes of those leaders who can eventually open the door for them. Mentors on the other hand provide a much less powerful effect in advancing a woman’s career because the overall effect relies upon how much power the mentor has personally in the company. “Research from the Center for Work-Life Policy, a New York-based think tank, quantifies the power of the sponsor effect. Sponsorship provides a statistical benefit of up to 30 percent when it comes to stretch assignments, promotions, and pay raises—a boost that mentoring alone can never hope to match.” (Hewlitt, “What women need to advance,” Forbes) However, it seems that women in general also need to shift their focus to realize the powerful effect that sponsorship can have on their careers and advancement. “Many junior women still underestimate the crucial push sponsorship can contribute to a high-potential but unrecognized employee. According to CWLP data, 77 percent of women believe that hard work and long hours, not connections, contribute the most to their advancement. There’s an overwhelming sense that getting ahead by any other means is dirty. Furthermore, many are hesitant to pursue a relationship with a senior male sponsor for fear of the perception of being sexually involved.” (Hewlitt, “What women need to advance,” Forbes) Both men and women of companies must overcome these fears of perception so that the issue of gender inequality can be overcome. It will take members of both sexes working together to fix this problem.

Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, found recent success with her book, “Lean In,” which highlights the issue of women working toward the top roles in their companies, and the ways they may be holding themselves back in the process through their own individual habits and behavior. This is another aspect of how the gender gap can be addressed, but not a solution that can stand on its own. Sandberg brings up the many issues women face while trying to climb the corporate ladder, whether that means juggling work and family, or trying to speak up more in important company meetings. Sandberg challenges women to “lean in” to the table and be heard rather than sit on the margins silently as men make the decisions.  While she was widely criticized for her book due to her own comfortably wealthy status, Sandberg helped to spark a new conversation surrounding the issue of women in management. Recently, a New York Times writer brought this issue back into light. “As Ms. Sandberg noted, women’s chances of making it to the top are also stuck. Only 17 percent of directors and 14 percent of C-suite executives at Fortune 500 companies are women. All but 20 or so of their chief executives are men. At the other end of the spectrum of opportunity, 16.3 percent of women are officially poor, according to census figures, compared to 13.6 percent of men.” (Porter, “To address gender gap, is it enough to lean in?” New York Times)

These figures dramatically demonstrate the key obstacles facing women who hope to become a part of the strategic management function of their companies. This issue, as noted previously, is one that goes beyond the world of public relations. It is an issue that we must face and grapple with as a society in order to create a more equal world.