Investigating Women as Public Relations Leaders in Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia

Abstract

This chapter explores perspectives on women and public relations leadership in the Southeast Asian region through a discussion of the diverse socio-cultural contexts in Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. Drawing on women leaders’ perspectives, the findings highlight their relational role in specific contexts. For example, Indigenous Australian leaders understand their role in terms of giving back to their community; female leaders in Indonesia must negotiate the importance of family and lookism; and in Malaysia, they must similarly combine caregiving and grapple with persistent gender discrimination. The findings interrogate traditional, Western notions of leadership and its gendering and propose a research agenda to investigate more diverse, relational and context-specific approaches to the concept of public relations leadership.