Where are the Men in PR?

Often we find that there are more women in the public relations field. Without any explanation, everyone goes along with it as if the career was made for women. I was talking to a friend a few months back who was an undecided major. Of course, being a public relation major, I suggested that he join the public relations program at EMU. Without hesitation, he laughed and said, “No, I’m okay. I don’t think that program is for me.” Looking at him, I asked, "Why don't you think it is for you?" I went on to ask if he knew what the program entailed. Not surprisingly, he said no and that public relations included dealing with too many people and there are mostly women in the PR field. I questioned why he would say something like that.

I explained to him that I thought he would be the perfect fit for sports public relations, more specifically media relations. Once I gave details about what he can do, how much money he can make and the impact he can make on the male culture missing from public relations, he began to consider it.

He did not change his major, but I still wonder why there not many males in the public relations field. It did not dawn on me until I was talking to a female in the public relations field. She explained to me that PR isn’t one of those professions everyone understands. Things like accounting, law, engineering, and financial services are industries that, on the surface, are easier to understand, and men seek them out instead of something more communications based.

Soon, I hope this changes. The PR field is something I feel many would enjoy. I know there are still a lot of people that do not understand PR. Our culture is so focused on medicine, engineering, education, etc., that we forget the importance of a team of people who represent organizations. The public relations field will change if universities are more engaged in prompting it to incoming freshman, more specifically males.