Prelims

Half Title Page

Women's Work in Public Relations

Title Page

Women's Work in Public Relations

Edited by

Elizabeth Bridgen

Sheffield Hallam University, UK

And

Sarah Williams

Buckinghamshire New University, UK

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL

First edition 2024

Editorial matter and selection © 2024 Elizabeth Bridgen and Sarah Williams.

Individual chapters © 2024 The Authors.

Practitioner stories © 2024 The Authors.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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ISBN: 978-1-80455-539-2 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80455-538-5 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80455-540-8 (Epub)

List of Figures and Tables

List of Photos

About the Editors

Elizabeth Bridgen, FHEA, is Principal Lecturer in Public Relations at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. She is co-editor with Sarah Williams of this book, Women's Work in Public Relations, to which she also contributed a chapter ‘Just Like Any Other’: Public Relations Careers in the Adult Industries. She is also co-editor with Dejan Verčič of Experiencing Public Relations: International Voices and recently contributed a chapter, ‘It's Trivial, Bitchy and Dull’ to Martina Topić’s edited collection Towards a New Understanding of Masculine Habitus: Women in Leadership in Public Relations and is writing a book chapter which explores women’s freelance career experiences in the UK public relations industry (with Sarah Bowman and Heather Yaxley) for a forthcoming book on gender and freelancing in the communication industries (edited by Anca Anton and Raluca Moise). She has had work published in Journal of Media Practice and PRism and recently co-authored a Chartered Institute of Public Relations-funded project on social mobility in public relations (with Stuart Baird) called Levelling Up the Public Relations Profession.

Her research explores the lived experience of PR practitioners with a focus on gender and technology and is currently working on a portfolio of research projects on the marginalised in PR communities and is currently researching and writing a book with Ileana Zeler titled Race and Social Mobility in Public Relations. This is to be published by Routledge as part of their Global PR Insights series.

Sarah Williams, MCIPR, MCIM, FHEA, is the Head of the School of Business and Law at Buckinghamshire New University, UK. She is co-editor with Elizabeth Bridgen of this book, Women's Work in Public Relations, to which she also contributed two chapters, ‘Performing Professionalism: A Story in Three Acts’, and ‘Using Ethnography to Explore Women’s Work in Public Relations’. She is also a contributor to Experiencing Public Relations: International Voices, edited by Bridgen, E. and Verčič, D. She is also a co-editor with Nikos Stylos, Roya Rahimi and Bendegul Okumus of Generation Z Marketing and Management Tourism and Hospitality and contributed a chapter to ‘Promotional Strategies and New Service Opportunities in Emerging Economies’ edited by Nadda, V., Dadwal, S. & Rahimi, R and published in 2017.

She has had work published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Relations Research and Advances in Hospitality and Tourism and is writing a book chapter which investigates the lived experiences of female PR freelancers in the UK for a forthcoming book on gender and freelancing in the communication industries (edited by Anca Anton and Raluca Moise).

Her research explores the lived experience of PR practitioners with a focus on professionalism and professionalisation, and is currently working on a research project on the lived experience of female freelancers in PR communities.

Sarah is a senior examiner for the Chartered Institute of Marketing and sits on the Midlands regional committee of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in the United Kingdom.

About the Contributors

Jade Bilowol is a PhD student with the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, and a full-time PR professional. Her PhD research is focused on exploring PR practitioners' perceptions of contributors to burnout in the Australian PR context. She has published journal articles with Public Relations Review titled ‘Multinational corporations’ role in developing Vietnam's PR industry through corporate social responsibility’ (2015) and ‘Vietnamese public relations practitioners: Perceptions of an emerging field’ (2014). Jade was a Full-time Lecturer with the Professional Communication program at RMIT University Vietnam's Saigon South Campus from 2010 to 2015. Since 2015, Jade has worked as an account manager for a PR agency that specialises in tourism and works mainly with high-end hotel clients. She began her career as a journalist in the late 1990s and after completing a Master of Business majoring in Public Relations with the Queensland University of Technology in 2007, she worked in Queensland government PR as a senior media and issues advisor. Her industry knowledge and experience have inspired her academic research.

Sarah Bowman, PhD, MCIPR, SFHEA, is a Senior Lecturer at Northumbria University, UK, and is a former practitioner now turned academic specialising in organisational communication. Sarah's research is rhizomatic and sociological focusing on strategic communications, navigating stakeholder interconnections and exploring transformational and feminine leadership in complex and politicised settings. Her PhD thesis investigated the knowledge, skills and attributes for public affairs practice developing a new knowledge architecture for the field. She has published on knowledge and pedagogy including Teaching in Higher Education where her research focuses on exploring metamodern perspectives and the sensibilities necessary to thrive in a dynamic and unstable world. Sarah has authored a range of book chapters including two editions of The Public Relations Handbook. She has also published journal articles most recently identifying the knowledge that supports PR practice in Public Relations Inquiry and on internal crisis communication and emotion in the Journal of Communication Management. With Dr Heather Yaxley, Sarah has developed an ecological radical feminine perspective of women and leadership published in Towards a New Understanding of Masculine Habitus and Women and Leadership in Public Relations and co-authored Public Affairs Management: A Guide to Professional Practice (in print).

Keren Darmon, PhD, is an academic and professional in the field of media and communications. She is a Teaching Fellow in Public Relations and Communications at the University of Greenwich and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). Keren's PhD from the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics examined mass and social media representation of feminist activism for social change. Her research interests are in feminist media studies with a current focus on Women in PR, AI in PR and the Future of PR. Most recently, she contributed to the PRCA sponsored Future of Public Relations (PR)/Communication (Comms) and Their Social Impact: A Delphi Method, Global Study of Practitioners', Educators' and Academics' Vision of PR, led by Ana Adi with Thomas Stoekle. Prior to her academic career, Keren was a government media and communications practitioner and has 12-years’ experience working across the communications spectrum in the UK government.

Begüm Ekmekçigil is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Communication, Ankara University, Turkey. After completing her BA in the Communication and Design Department, Bilkent University, she obtained an MSc International Marketing and Entrepreneurship at University of Essex. Now, she is conducting her PhD research on the ‘PR industry in Turkey: Female PR professionals career experiences in Turkey.’. She was a part-time instructor at Başkent University but is now working at an educational institution, in the publicity and marketing department. Scientific interests include PR, feminism, professionalism, women, gender, PR professionals, communication and social media.

Cleuza Gertrudes Gimenes Cesca is a retired Professor. Cleuza has worked as a Professor in graduate and postgraduate courses for over 40 years at the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas, Brazil, being also a Researcher and Scientific Consultant. She has a PhD and Master's Degree in Communications Sciences from the University of São Paulo (Universidade de São Paulo – USP), São Paulo, Brazil. Her thesis title was: ‘Public Relations and the Firm Writing-Driven Communication’. Her dissertation was about ‘Public Relations and Consumer Rights: A Contribution to the Conflict Solution’. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Social Communications, with a Public Relations Major, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas – PUC-Campinas), São Paulo State, Brazil. Professor Cleuza has participated in conferences by presenting studies in the United States, Spain and Portugal and almost all cosmopolitan Brazilian cities. She was the Vice Dean of the Institute of Arts and Communications of PUC-Campinas and a Member of the University Council, Member of the Scientific Consultants Committee and Headline of the Faculty of Public Relations of this university. She is a founder member of the First International Interdisciplinary Public Relations Research Conference, PRSA Educators Academy. She is mentioned in the book ‘Who's Who in the World’. Currently, Cleuza is an independent researcher and a communication services consultant. She is a Member of the Campineira Academy of Languages and Arts (Member da Academia Campineira de Letras e Artes), where she occupies chairperson number 20 in the city of Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil. Her main research themes are the following: Public Relations in the Management of Corporate Events; Consumer Attending Services regarding Legislation; PR and the New Professional Profile; Electronic Communication and the Transformations at Organizations; Social Responsibility; the PR Role; and PR for the Third Sector.

Bron Eames has advised numerous national and international brands across B2C and B2B sectors – with particular expertise in food and drink, leisure retail, retail, automotive, transport, construction and home interest. She was managing director of two award winning Midlands' (UK) consultancies for over 20 years and sat on the leadership teams of a number of full-service agencies. A Fellow of the CIPR, past chair of the Midlands committee (twice) and three times chair of PRCA Midlands, she is now an independent consultant, providing non-exec support, mentoring, training and strategic counsel. Here she discusses why she has worked in PR for over 40 years.

Diane Green is PR programme leader at the University of Sunderland, UK. She worked as a journalist for five years before moving into PR in the 1990s, working within the Government Information and Communication Service for the Contributions Agency. She spent the remainder of the decade working in PR consultancies but eventually returned in-house to join the North East's destination marketing agency Newcastle Gateshead Initiative. This led to working on the area's bid to be European Capital of Culture and focused on PR for high profile music and arts events aimed at boosting the region's education, employment, tourism and investment attainment. Diane then joined a global service organisation working with the BBC to raise awareness of the national switchover to digital television. She has won a number of regional CIPR PRide and national Excellence awards and was named North East regional PR practitioner of the year in 2007. She contributed a chapter supporting the enduring role of media relations in PR to the CIPR's 70th anniversary book Platinum: Celebrating the CIPR and Its Members at 70. She has taught PR at the University of Sunderland since 2004.

Susan Lilico Kinnear, PhD, ChartPR, PGCE, PGCert, PGDip, MA, DipCIPR, MPRCA, CMBE, FCIM, FCIPR, SFHEA, is a former journalist (Thomson Reuters and Trinity Mirror), who held senior communications roles in both the public and private sectors before moving into academia. She has delivered contracts for the UK government, blue chip companies, charities, regional development agencies and international organisations. As a Chartered PR and CIPR Senior Examiner, Professor Kinnear was also appointed as a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and Chartered Institute of Marketing in recognition of her contribution to the profession through communications consultancy and education. As a specialist in international and digital marketing, Susan holds a PhD from the University of Manchester, UK, and publishes on both communications education and global communication practice. Professor Kinnear is currently Chair of International Communication at the School of Business, University of Dundee, UK.

Tess Lhermitte-Russell studied Communications at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University, where she conducted primary research into the experience of women and motherhood within the Public Relations industry. The testimony she encountered as part of this project persuaded her of the necessity to work independently, and she now operates as a freelance marketer with a particular focus on social media. Tess works with a variety of clients delivering campaign projects, influencer marketing and social media strategies. Her clients range from those within e-commerce to those in the fitness and wellness industry. Tess remains passionate about the equality of women in all domains. She hopes that her research and recommendations will spark conversation around the topic and prompt significant change to ensure that women are no longer discriminated against because of their gender.

Fabiana Gondim Mariutti is a Lecturer at Federal University of São Carlos, São Paulo State, Brazil. She carried out her post-doctoral research at FEA-Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (USP), in Brazil (FAPESP scholarship – data collection included personal semi-structured interviews with internationally recognised professors located in universities in England, Portugal and Switzerland). She has a PhD from Leeds Business School, Leeds Beckett University, England (CAPES Brazil scholarship) that the University of São Paulo revalidated. Her master's degree was from FEA-Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (FAPESP scholarship and CNPq grant with data collection in the United States). She postgraduated in Strategic Business Management by FAAP-Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. She has a bachelor's degree in Social Communications, with a Public Relations major, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas – PUC-Campinas), São Paulo State, Brazil. Her High School senior year was awarded from Lyman High School, Longwood, Florida, in the United States. Since 2010, Fabiana has worked as an academic – lecturing, supervising and researching in Brazil and England. Before, this, Fabiana worked in the strategy, marketing, branding and PR domains for multinational firms, franchising headquarters, language schools and consultancies. Fabiana has 2 books and 5 book chapters published (Germany, UK, US) and more than 30 scientific papers. Fabiana is a co-founder and volunteer researcher of the iii-Brazil index, with weekly analytic-based reports since April 2022. She obtained the National Honour Society in the United States, Elsevier Reviewer Recognition and the Honour Reviewer Award at EMA (Marketing Triennial Conference by ANPAD). Her main research themes are the country of origin effect theory and its theoretical-methodological evolution and higher education teaching and learning developments.

Andrea Oliveira, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Advertising and Audiovisual Communication Department at the University of Malaga (Spain). Previously, she has worked as a researcher in the Serra Húnter International Excellence Program in the Department of Philology and Communication of the University of Girona. With several articles published in prestigious international journals, her lines of research focus on PR, digital communication, strategic communication and crisis communication. She has been a Guest Professor at European and American universities, has more than 15 years of academic experience and she has participated in several research projects. She is co-founder of the network AcademicasPR.

Olesia Gorbunova Öner is a PhD candidate in Ankara University, Turkey. She graduated from the Public Relations Department at Perm State Polytechnic University, Russia, and worked as a Senior Lecturer in Public Relations, Public Relations Techniques and Project Management and Image Studies. Now she is pursuing a PhD in the Department of Public Relations and Promotion at Ankara University. Scientific interests include PR education and PR for educational bodies, students as a group of university stakeholders, professionalisation of PR; fashion and lifestyle in everyday life, social media, social media influencers as a third-party endorsers and cultural intermediaries, social media influencers as self-brand creators and strategies of building a brand in and through the social media, visual culture and visual communications in social media.

Aimee Postle, MBA, MEd, FHEA, ChartPR, MCIPR, is a Team Coach and Teaching Fellow within the Aston Centre for Enterprise, Coaching and Innovation in the Work and Organisation Department at Aston Business School. Alongside her work with Team Academy Aston team entrepreneurs and MBA students, Aimee retains a foot in the world of PR as an independent consultant delivering coaching, strategy and training through Aimee Postle Consulting. With more than 15 years' PR and marketing experience, Aimee has worked with over 100 organisations, from regional SMEs to global household names, focusing on the environment, energy, technology, automotive and supply chain markets. Aimee has been awarded Master-level degrees in both Education and Business Administration, as well as Professional Diplomas through the Chartered Institutes of PR and Marketing (CIPR and CIM). She is a Chartered PR Practitioner and has held roles as CIPR Midlands Regional Chair, CIPR Knowledge Panel Member and CIPR External Examiner. She is also a trustee for Iprovision, the Chartered Institute of Public Relation's benevolent charity.

Jennifer A. Robinson, PhD, MPRIRA, GAIP2, is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. She has been teaching PR for over 20 years in the United States and Australia following 10 years in science communication. Her research interests focus on health and environment communication, risk communication, audience research and stakeholder engagement with a keen interest in technologies for supportive communities. She draws upon a range of methodologies including psychophysiology and co-design and engages in industry–community partnerships most recently with the local government public health services, the University of the Third Age, the Australian Conservation Foundation and IBAC (Australia's Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission). Jenny led the ‘Technologies for Supportive Communities’ project for the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) focused on young people's mental health and well-being and currently leads a project exploring credible healthy ageing communication for seniors and collaboration in public health communication. Based in science/health communication she has recently collaborated on strategic messaging in species conservation and co-leads a team exploring the benefits of a TuneChair multisensory experience for people living with dementia. She has co-authored publications in the Journal of Public Relations Research, Journal of Interactive Marketing, BMC Public Health and others as well as co-authoring over 30 industry reports. Jenny is a keen advocate of ethical governance and is a Non-Executive Director of Saints Care Ltd.

Isabel Ruiz-Mora, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Malaga (Spain) in the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising where she teaches PR and Transmedia at BA and MA level, and is a member of the University's Institute for Gender and Equality Research (IGIUMA). She is PhD supervisor for the Interuniversity Doctorate in Communication and is Erasmus coordinator with the University of Salzburg (Austria). Isabel is involved in different funded projects on lobbying (Lobby y Comunicación en la Unión Europea – PID 2020-118584RB-I00) and students' employability in mobility sectors (AstonRail Erasmus+ and UMA Racing Team). Her research is focused on citizen's activism, sustainability and strategic communication. Isabel is editor of the International Journal of Public Relations and has been a Senior Lecturer in Sheffield Hallam University and visiting researcher at the University of Stirling (Scotland), Roskilde University (Denmark), the University of Sheffield (England), the University of Leeds (England) and TAR-UC College (Malaysia). Her recent publications include The Fluid and Disruptive Shape of Activism: Strategic Communication in #fridaysforfuture and The Guiding Principles of the Profession: A Comparative Study. She is co-founder of the network AcademicasPR, a collaborative space to study and disseminate the work of and on women academics in the field of PR.

Marianne D. Sison, PhD, FPRIA, is Honorary Fellow at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Her research interests include cultural and gender diversity, inclusive communication, international and cross-cultural communication, corporate social responsibility and PR education, with a special interest in the Asia–Pacific region. As a Fellow of the Public Relations Institute of Australia, she has published numerous journal articles, conference papers, book chapters and co-authored Corporate Social Responsibility, Public Relations and Community Engagement: Emerging Perspectives from South East Asia (Routledge 2018). In addition to being founder and convenor of the Asia Pacific Public Relations Research and Education Network, Marianne is a reviewer for Public Relations Inquiry, Public Relations Review and the International Journal of Communication.

Sheena Thomson is a global strategic and issues communications leader now specialising in risk mitigation, reputation and crisis communications, practicing as a crisis communications trainer, teacher and responder. Sheena began her career in military human resources and media operations as a commissioned officer in the British Royal Navy, where she mastered her core PR skills and mastered the ability to craft clear communication of a complex subject matter in dynamic and challenging settings. Since leaving the Royal Navy over 20 years ago Sheena has held senior multi-sector communication roles in both the government and corporate sectors. Her strength is in transitional and complex settings and previous assignments include spokesperson roles for NATO and the EU, and change and transition advisory roles for the Governments of Egypt and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Executive Council General Secretariat. She was the communications member on the PMO at the Abu Dhabi Government Restructuring Committee. Mid-career communication assignments included international soft diplomacy projects, transition and change management programmes related to UN democracy-building within Iraq and Afghanistan programmes, taxation law changes in Egypt, advocating financial literacy in Indonesia and the introduction of competition law changes throughout the ASEAN membership countries. Her other specialty is crisis management and she has responded to aircraft accidents, political crises, cyber security concerns, regulatory challenges, kidnap and ransom incidents and post-IPO issues management. Sheena is the Founder and Programme Director for CrisisFit®, an executive leadership training programme designed to build crisis leadership capability and confidence. She recently became an Adjunct Professor (Communications) on the IE Business School Altamayyuz programme. Sheena is a Founding CIPR Chartered PR Practitioner, MCIPR, PROSCI Change Management Practitioner and Founding Board Member, International Association for Risk and Crisis Communications.

Deborah Wise, PhD, is a teacher, researcher and consultant in the field of strategic communication and PR. Her research interests revolve around how organisations and entities use language and other modes of communication to shape people's emotions, thoughts and actions. Much of her work utilises a strategic positioning theoretical framework to explore the rights and duties associated with such entities when communicating in contested environments, with power dynamics being a central concern. Over the past 12 years her work has encompassed a range of topics such as health communication, climate change-related political campaigns, PR practice and ethics, environmental sustainability and public diplomacy. Before embarking on an academic career, Deborah worked as a senior PR practitioner, gaining extensive experience delivering campaigns both nationally and internationally. Her practical knowledge of the industry has been invaluable to her academic research. Deborah's recent publications include ‘Positioning Theory and Strategic Communication’ in the Routledge International Handbook of Positioning Theory (2023, in press), co-authored with M James, and ‘Public Relations Ethics in the 21st Century: State of the Field, Future Opportunities’ in the Journal of Communication Management (2022), co-authored with M Jackson, E Chorazy and M Sison.

Dr Heather Yaxley, FCIPR, is an author-academic-educator-consultant-practitioner-historian. Her PhD thesis investigated ‘Career Strategies in Public Relations’, developing a new tapestry paradigm that provides original insight into contemporary and historical career experiences. Research papers exploring the origins of PR careers as well as career experiences of female practitioners in the 1970s/1980s were presented at the International History of Public Relations Conference and published in Public Relations Review. Heather worked in consultancy and in-house roles before setting up her independent business, Applause Consultancy. This supports organisations, teams and individuals with critical thinking, reflexive practice, strategic projects, ethical decision-making, professional development and performance improvement initiatives. Heather has taught undergraduate, postgraduate and professional qualifications since 1999, is co-editor of the PR Conversations blog and founder of Greenbanana, Ecosophical.com and Nudge for Dogs. As Consultant Knowledge Manager for CIPR, she edited and produced Professional Practice Review: Research, Measurement and Evaluation in PR and Communication Management, the four-part series of Applied Tools & Techniques: Applied Ethical Practice, and an Essential Skills Workbook for Data Literacy Skills. In addition to co-authoring two editions of The Public Relations Strategic Toolkit, she has written chapters in four editions of The Public Relations Handbook. With Dr Sarah Bowman, Heather has developed an ecological radical feminine perspective of women and leadership and co-authored Public Affairs Management: A Guide to Professional Practice (in print).

Ileana Zeler, PhD, is a Serra Hunter Fellow in the Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Audiovisual Communication at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain). With a wealth of experience in research, she has published several articles and book chapters in international scientific journals and editorials. Her research interests encompass a range of topics, including PR, digital communication, strategic communication and corporate social responsibility. In addition, she is a Guest Professor at universities in Spain, Latin America and Europe. Currently, she holds the position of Vice Chair of the Organizational and Strategic Communication Section at the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), and she is co-founder of the network AcademicasPR, a collaborative space to study and disseminate the work and research of and on women academics in the field of PR.