O'Brien: For Joe and Nick - do you have any ideas why there are so few males getting PR degrees?
Scozzaro: I can only speak for what I see at U. of Rhode Island, and that would be a lack of diversity, yet I'm happy to see more and more men join my classes and our student-run PR firm.
Papsun: I agree with Joe and Erika- whenever I would see a male at PRSSA, I would actually be surprised. And yet, aren't the most senior-level positions dominated by males? What's the deal?
Lucido: I'll be honest, when I talk to people who aren't studying public relations; they think I'm going to plan events. I feel like public relations is something that many people find out about later in their career, not necessarily something that you start off in.
Dawes: Do any of you think that the lack of men in the PR classes is from the way the media portrays the profession? Samantha Jones, etc.
Papsun: Exactly. Or turn into Samantha Jones from
Sex and the City.
Scozzaro: Absolutely, it's that "high-class, lots of money, martini drinking" stereotype.
Papsun: I agree with Nick, which circles back to why you need to have real work experience.
Burke: I don't think PR is immune to the gender issues in other businesses like the glass ceiling or male management. Although I think that it is less than the average.
Gonzalez: I definitely have gotten that comment from my friends who have a degree completely different from communications! (Samantha Jones) A lot of people I have come into contact with have a very confused idea of what is PR.
O'Brien: Is PR as a career choice well known in high school?
Scozzaro: No, but it is becoming more popular.
Burke: Even if it was, most people, even inexperienced PR majors, have a hard time defining it. "Is that like marketing, or what?"
Papsun: The reason I considered PR in high school is that I knew I wanted to work with the media, and that I was a "people person." Now I know a little bit better... I find even journalist students don't know anything about PR. Some at my school say we're on "the dark side," which really frustrates me.
Burke: People think you're Nick Naylor from
Thank You for Smoking.
Gonzalez: I agree with Joe. I get the marketing assumption. Along with "so you want to be agent?" or "you want to be a politician?" I had a good idea of what PR was when entering college but definitely learned a lot more once I started taking my classes. We devoted a whole week in a class to the differences between advertising and PR.
Dawes: That's a good point, Joe. I've had many friends and family members ask me why I'm going into PR. They don't understand that PR is not spinning.