PR: a Gendered Profession

In Why Women Dominate PR Profession it is said that PR “is still not taken seriously enough and is often viewed as a bit girlie in certain quarters”. Thus, if Public Relations can be seen as a “bit girlie” and female practitioners outnumber their male counterparts, what makes women more suitable for a PR role?
Biological and social attributes that distinguish women from men seem to be the root for being a great fit in Public Relations roles.
Anne Parris of IPR Midlands advocate that women tend to be more practical than theoretical and have more attention to detail, which are major assets to be a PR practitioner.
According to Parris, women are also better listeners, more methodical in their decisions, less confrontational, less likely to go off in unproven directions and are better than men at thinking on different levels all at the same time.
Gidon Freeman, editor of PR Week, reckons that “PR is all about developing relationships and bringing influence to bear, which historically women have always mastered better than men”.
Linda Hon, Larissa Grunig and David Dozier in “Women in Public Relations: Problems and Opportunities” go even further and argue that feminine values have been linked with to the two-way symmetrical communication, the model heralded as the most ethical and effective. This model invokes cooperation, collaboration and relationship building; all feminine principles that have been developed in the domestic sphere, a place well known by most women.