Hello everyone,
I hope you are all doing fine with your respective internship ! From my side I have a gender issue to share with you, folks - Men in the PR sector. There was a post made by Sabrina one of my classmates about this topic. So I thought of expanding on this issue as I faced it too !
This is my second post, I was a bit confused about the posting, whenever its on blog 1 or blog2, but now its fine. I was doing my internship at Four Seasons Resort Mauritius. I am in the HR dept which is responsible for the internal communication of the organisation.
I was a bit surprised when some colleagues asked me why I choose the PR field with the perception that it is a field 'dedicated' to women. But what matters, whether being a male or female its about the ability to do the job properly. The most used PR example is Richard Brandson Of Virgin.
Also many people I met, confuse PR with guest relations ! Sometimes, there are even some people who will mock me, but with time after seeing my work, they understood how distorted their point of view about PR was. This is where I try to make them see the difference. How we PR people work and what are our skills. I am sure most of u, if not all, will agree with me that PR can be regarded as a professional job like lawyers or doctors, because of the specific knowledge and skills we learn.
Someone who does not have this knowledge is not really a PR person. So, when they saw the daily newsletter I was making they begin to understand the role of PR and how it contributes to the internal communication of the organisation. They still have to see the international one ! hehe !
The daily newsletter was basically about the employees activities being held, like football, volleyball, carom, domino and table tennis. It was a knock out tournament between the several departments.
Also I met with the PR Director, Mrs Rhena Bhunwaree, who encouraged me a lot. She appreciated the fact to see a male in such a position. And after 7-8 days of work, she shows much appreciation on my work and efforts involved as to-be graduate. I was offered to join her dept, as there is a vacancy for a PR Co-ordinator. But this will be for later on, when the semester ends. ;)
To conclude I would like to say "where there is a male, there is a way," also in every Fe'male' there is a male !!! PR field, here comes the Male !
Cheers friends !
Hope to hear u soon !
Abhishek
9 comments:
Yes, I totally with Abhishek, Gender should not be an issue for this professional. A good PR Practitioner should be gauged by his/her capabilities and personal attributes such as a general ability to understand clients' needs and know how to go about meeting them with integrity. It should not be gauged whether you are a woman or a man. I think we should change the public's perception of this field being 'dedicated' to women. This is my view.
Hello,
Wow, how exciting! Four Seasons Resort in Mauritius!
I laughed when I read your post. I actually just finished speaking with my fiance about what he thought PR meant. And he said something to the effect of "spin doctoring to make things sound great" and that it "was for chicks"!
I would agree that most don't know what they're talking about and so they immediately think the worst and that PR - "ooo that sounds fluffy, it has to be a female's job"!
You're certainly a brave man for entering a field predominantly represented by women. But... maybe that also makes you smart?!
p.s Funny quotes!
@ Jeffrey
Thank you for your reply. I definitely agree with the fact that the PR field is restricted to women. But from my point of view its on the right way to change !
@ Danica
lol, infact its not my cup of tea to blog, so thought of making it a bit funny and interesting. I would agree with your fiancé with the statement f "spin doctoring to make things sound great", in the real world this is much present. And yes I've got very positive responses from many colleagues for my work. And yes, a guy in a field supposedly dedicated to females definitely makes u smarter.. hehe !
Hi!
I agree that at the moment there does seem to be a perception that PR is mainly for females!
However where i'm doing my internship, there is a number of males in the PR department. The manager is actually male. I guess its a good sign that PR is becoming more acceptable for males as well as females, and men can be just as successful.
Hi,
Your post is very interesting regarding PR and Men. I think the same theory goes to Female and Engineering. However, the trend is changing now, there are getting more and more male working in PR industry. So, all the best to you and welcome to the PR world!
In addition to that, I agreed with Danica that there are still many people out there doesn't really know what is the role of Public Relations. Nevertheless, I believe that PR is outshining in the industry.
Best wishes,
Christy
Hi,
Your post is very interesting regarding PR and men. I think the same theory goes to female and engineering. However, the trend is changing now, there are getting more and more male working in PR industry. So, all the best to you and welcome to the PR world!
In addition to that, I agreed with Danica that there are still many people out there doesn't really know what is the role of Public Relations. Nevertheless, I believe that PR is outshining in the industry.
Best wishes,
Christy
Hello Abhishek,
Very interesting post indeed! Cheers!
Like the others, I totally agree with you regarding the gender issue. In my department, the internal and media relations section, all my colleagues are women. But my coordinator is a man. It is generally believed that women are fit to be in the PR field because they are charismatic. But let me tell you that men also can be charismatic. My coordinator has such a personality and during my internship, I never thought that a woman would have done better. He is convincing and knows his profession well. In fact, I have learnt a lot from him.
It’s not only my supervisor. There are other men working in other sections of the communication department where I work. I take for example the events and logistics section. I have seen men working hard, planning each detail of upcoming events. So, really, it would be foolish to say that women are more patient than men and that’s why they should be in PR. I believe what matters is personality, level of professionalism and how far you know your profession and are dedicated to it. It does not matter whether you are a male or a female if at the end of the day the results are the same.
Passion is also important! During my internship, I have seen men who really like to be in the challenging PR field and they are doing a great job. In fact, one thing I have noticed is that, men handle stress a bit better. When I used to discuss women in PR with my friends before going on internship, stress and workload was one element that I was using to illustrate that PR is not made for men. I used to say that women can handle pressure better and that’s why we find many of them in the profession. But how wrong I was!! I have seen my women colleagues get stressed when under pressure while their male counterparts were still cool and doing a fine job under the same circumstance.
Your post and my experience at the MCB have actually cleared the doubts that I had about gender issue in PR. I come out of this experience with only one conclusion. Both men and women are suitable to be in the profession and it is not gender that will say the contrary. In fact, it’s personality and attitude that makes the difference and this applies to all professional fields. Gender should not be an issue in the professional world. If men and women work together, think strategically together and respect each other’s point of view, I believe the final product will be a better one. At least, this is what I noticed in the Communication SBU of the MCB.
Knowing you personally, I sincerely believe you are suitable for the profession mate and I’m sure you’ve done a great job at Four Seasons.
Regards
Youshrina ;)
Hello girls !
sorry for this late reply I was a bit taken up with the assignments and all.
Thank you very much for your interest in the post, im really glad that you like it !
Infact I have to tell you that I was at an interview for a job and guess what the Director of PR and Marketing is a guy ! and most people working there are guys. I have to point out that PR and marketing are also two different independent department.
Its true and I totally agree with you when you say that PR trend is changing.
I will also refer to Jeffrey's comment where he said that "A good PR Practitioner should be gauged by his/her capabilities and personal attributes "..
cheers
Cheers !
Hi Abhishek,
Yeah I totally agree with you. I remember my first PR lecture when the lecturer (a woman) exclaimed: “Look around you!” Indeed, there were only 2 boys in the PR class. She said that people have the perception that women are more involved in Public Relations since they “communicate” better compared to men.
Concerning your second point of view with regards to Public Relations, I also agree with you since I have been working in the Hotel industry (I heard the term “PRO” there) but indeed the Public Relations Officer was doing guest relations ! When I started my BA Mass Communications course at CTI, I was astonished to learn that there was no PR in whatever tasks the so –called “PRO” was doing at the Hotel. PR involves maintaining good relationship with guests but it cannot be reduced to guest relations.
Cheers,
Danitza
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