Abstract
Gender studies is a heated topic discussed by many communication scholars as of late, while the public relations (PR) industry has been significantly concerned with gender diversity for decades. However, not only has the history of PR received limited attention over the years, but the role of women in PR has been a somewhat untold story thus far. Women in PR History is a first attempt to fill this research gap.
Anastasios Theofilou, the editor of Women in PR History, presents nine chapters drawn from the International History of PR Conference, pulling together the work of professors, researchers, editors, and industry practitioners from different disciplines, including media studies, communication studies, and sociology. This book sheds light on the role of female pioneers in the evolution of PR history and provides culturally diverse histories and fresh perspectives to better understand the discipline.
The first two chapters provide an overview of women in the PR industry. In Chapter 1, a re-examination of the “velvet ghetto” and “glass ceiling” reports points out the gender pay gap, occupational stereotypes, work-life imbalances, and “socialization processes” that result in many women self-selecting into roles oppositional to managerial ones (p. 10). Following these extended analyses of issues women in the PR industry face, Topic and Tench explore trends and problems such as workplace discrimination, biases and long-held prejudices based on a thematic and longitudinal analysis of the European Communications Monitor collected between 2009 and 2019.
In the subsequent chapters, the authors go on to reflect on specific cases of prominent female practitioners’ contributions in the field of PR in different countries. For instance, Hürmeriç and Bıçakçı report on three Turkish International PR Association women presidents who redefined professional standards of PR across three decades (Chapter 4). In Chapter 5, when introducing Betty Stewart and her promotion of the stage show, Orientalism and Oriental Cavalcade, Fitch not only tells Stewart's story and her role in the Australian PR industry in depth, but also highlights Stewart's entertaining PR breakthroughs in promoting her client's stage play. For instance, Stewart uses the commodification of performers as “exotic Asians” as a primary PR strategy, ensuring more public attention and ticket sales.
Following Chapter 6, Guardia and his colleagues analyze Spanish woman director Helena Lumbreras and her documentaries. Souket discusses Paddy Schubert and her contributions to PR education and practice in Malaysia (Chapter 7). Finally, Hill and Spector offer the first focus on African–American female PR practitioners, describing Inez Kaiser and her efforts in fighting for equal rights of women in business and the world of PR (Chapter 9).
All these cases of women in PR help readers form perceptions of gender issues and equal rights in various contexts; overall, the book is an admirable volume of highly readable stories on the history of PR.
