Sexism in the PR Industry?

Say the words ‘PR lady’ to me and it paints a picture of a wobbly matron pushing a tea trolley in her slippers: “Tea no sugar, dear? Yes, dear. Would you like a stroopwafel with that press release?” Or there’s the other extreme, the ‘PR girl’, which conjures an image of leggy blonde poppets with suikerspin brains, who totter on killer Choos as they air-kiss people on the guest list to some cookie-cutter of a launch party.

I got into a heated debate with a boss once, because I’d taken offence at the use of ‘PR lady’. What’s wrong with it? No one talks about the ‘Copywriter lady’, or the ‘Art Buyer lady’ or the ‘Executive Creative lady’. It’s pejorative, negative, and faintly condescending. It suggests that you’re not taking the role of PR seriously: ‘Bless her, let her have a go at this public relations lark before she pops out a baby. Anyone could do it, surely.’ Calling someone a ‘PR lady’ sounds like the role was freeze-dried in 1987, skills-set and all.

We’ve come a long way, baby. Those in the ad industry like to think they are top of the tree, closest to the client’s inner sanctum, the axis of power. And sometimes they are. These days, however, with the rise of Integrated and the fall of just about everything else, I’d say that the big idea, the brand promise, can be delivered through the arteries of a great big pumping PR heart, more than any other discipline. When it’s done right. Which means using PR – in all its guises – for both reputation management and business development.

Sexism in the PR industry? Don't you worry your pretty little head over it. It’s 2010 and sexism is alive and well. If you want to be taken seriously and reach the giddy echelons of the A-game players, then you’d better be packing wood. Otherwise, you’re going to need to be an additional 50+ percent better than the boys. Or really cute. Sometimes both. Sad? True. Fighting harder in the marketplace – locally, internationally, across borders - is what the best of us are used to.

There. I said it.