Advancement for public relations role models

Abstract

In this update of Glen Broom's 1979 survey of public relations practitioners, the authors have returned to the original participants to collect data on advancement from entry-level technician levels to managerial levels. Their results are disturbing. While managers and technicians in 1985 differed little on years of formal education, the managerial category was disproportionately male—the same situation that prevailed in 1979. The large number of women at the lower-level technician role cannot be attributed to the influx of women into the profession, since the 1985 survey polled those who were already working in public relations in 1979. Salary differences for men and women remain statistically significant. The authors conclude that advancement in public relations is clearly a function of the practitioner's gender and role in the profession. Glen M. Broom is a visiting professor in the Department of Journalism, University of Texas, Austin. David Dozier is an associate professor in the Department of Journalism, San Diego State University. This article was adapted from an invited paper at the Association for Education and Journalism and Mass Communication convention in Memphis, Tenn., August 1985. This research and the assistance of graduate student David Applegate were made possible by grants from the Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education.