Emotions management – who does it better that us, women?

There is a preconception in the society that fast paced and highly competitive industries are dominated by men. Why? Becouse of another, even deeper rooted preconception about male actual brain functions make them more resistant and in fact more efficient in those ‘dog eat dog’ industries.

Taking this, how do we explain the apparent domination of women in PR, profession ranked as second most stressful jobs right after commercial pilot? There must be real, tangible reasons for this domination of females in highly competitive industry which PR is.

                                                             EMOTIONAL LABOUR

'Go the extra mile to prove that you understand their business. Work them out as individuals too – what kind of people are they? What gets them excited? Flirt with them before the pitch by offering them some opportunities. Above all else, be enthusiastic and passionate' (CIPR, 2009).

Above is a direct quotation from guidelines for handling PR agencies’ clients published by Chartered Institute of Public Relations. The associations with female values are immediate.

 According to feminist theory of public relations, female values are intrinsic to successful public relations practice. It does, indeed seem like a very reasonable argument, that values associated with femininity like honesty, justice and sensitivity enhance symmetrical, two way communication paradigm of ideal public relations. Solving conflicts and building relationships crucial for PR practice – who can do this better than those who came from Venus?
It is quite apparent that ‘public relations agencies consciously and instrumentally deploy emotional labour as a resource, mostly performed by female consultants, to win and keep clients.’(Yeomas, 2003). Some PR scholars argue that employers prefer to recruit women to public relations because it “increasingly involves emotional labour” and emotion work was is seen as women’s domain. They are believed to have better communication skills, be more sympathetic and better listeners.

                                            UNAVOIDABLE GENDER PAY GAP?

Apparently in 1980s the PR industry was highly dominated by men with 80% of male in the industry. Nowadays the roles have reversed with women at 60% - 70%. The rapid feminisation of public relations which started in this period was a cause of concern that increasing number of women in PR would drive down salaries of all practitioners.  Although salaries in general did not decline, women’s salaries, despite of industry dominance, are lower than men’s (according to PR Week opinion survey, 2002). Men hold higher positions to women in both agencies and in house, especially in  higher-paying public relations jobs such as financial, industrial, or retail services (5% difference according to PR week survey, 2002).