Gender Issues in the Diversity and Practice of Public Relations in the UAE Case Study of P.R. Male Managers and Female P.R. Practitioners

Introduction

As the Public Relations field becomes feminized in the Arab world, and particularly in the UAE, female and male practitioners alike must confront the prospect of power and leader or manager issues. The work environments of the genders vary significantly because they learn to hold different kinds of jobs; even in the same job they are assigned different kinds of responsibilities. This paper presents a comprehensive examination of the current status of women in Public Relations and proposes concrete ways to achieve greater parity in education and practice. The author assimilates the theoretical literature regarding public relations and gender with results of a key longitudinal study of the power of gender in the field, along with illuminating interview data. Topics covered include factors contributing to sex discrimination; how public relations stacks up against other professions on gender-related issues; the challenges facing female managers and entrepreneurs; the experiences of ethnic minority professionals; and how to foster solutions on individual, organizational, and societal levels. It is recognized that educating females in Public Relations is one of the most resourceful decisions that society can make in terms of improving its social, economic, and health development. In many countries, such as Arabic countries, cultures that support the education of females find that it leads to a better social environment for themselves, their families, and the society as well (Berrais, 2009). The percentage of women in the Public Relations profession is low in most of the Arab nations compared to their counterparts in other parts of the world, especially those in the west. There are no accurate, updated statistics of the percentage of female P.R. practitioners in most Arab countries (Berrais, 2009). This paper discusses the current situation of women in Public Relations in the Arab world, and outlines the main causes of the low number of women managers in P.R. in some of Arab countries.

Studies about the field of P.R. practitioners regarding feminism are limited in the Arab region.

Consequently, Sigel (1996) agreed that female perceptions of gender relations are complex and often conflicting. While many females see gender bias pervading nearly all social interactions—private as well as public-—they do not always feel that they personally have been its victims. Women are torn, according to Sigel (1996), “between the desire to improve their positions relative to men and the desire to avoid open conflict with them… This complex picture of how women, while not always content with the status quo, have chosen to accommodate to the world they must face every day is certain to provoke considerable debate” (p. 3). Studying topics related to the experiences of ethnic minority professionals and learning how to cultivate solutions for individuals and organizations is essential to improve the community research development in the future.