The other day I came across a fantastic surprise PR stunt about the reopening of the Rijksmuseum – Amsterdam’s National Museum of Art and History – on 13 April this year. Especially those who are fans of art and creativity will appreciate the thoughtfulness and the efforts behind this really cool idea.

The surprise campaign took place at a busy shopping mall and amazingly recreated Rembrandt’s Night Watch (considered one of the most famous paintings in the world) in the form of a flashmob! Brilliant, right?

Totally unexpected, over twenty members of the Shooting Company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq – the common name for Rembrandt's famous painting – just started their performance with the mission to ‘capture a 17th-century rogue.’ This was indeed such an outstanding way of promoting the reopening of the museum, don't you think? (I envy those people who were at the shopping mall – I really want to witness such a stunt!)

As some of you know I served a five month internship at Montpellier Public Relations – a PR consultancy in the UK – between September last year and February this year. This was an invaluable professional experience. It not only taught me a lot, but it also proved that I have made the right career choice, which is why I decided to share with you what I’ve learned and what I would advise others who want to work in PR.

While serving this internship I gained firsthand insights into how exactly a PR agency functions and how relationships with clients are being established and maintained. I developed thorough understanding and appreciation of the management and business model of a full service PR and marketing communications consultancy operating across a range of clients from various sectors – from healthcare, facilities management, professional services to recruitment. This helped me realise that really comprehending client expectations is the first and probably even the most important step towards meeting client needs.

First of all, I am glad that I chose a smaller agency, because I was given a lot of work, which I very much enjoyed, and I had the chance to learn a lot both on my own and with the supervision of the team. Working in a smaller rather than a large consultancy has allowed me to take on more responsibilities, be in a direct contact with clients and the media and so progress faster and develop a set of essential PR and marketing skills.

Now that you've seen the interviews for my dissertation I conducted with Heather Yaxley, Shelley Fletcher-Bryant, Annie Bowden and Rob Brown, here's the final one to go online (I conducted a few more, but promised to keep them confidential and not publish them).

Below you’ll see the responses of Alison Theaker. Alison has over 30 years of experience in public relations and management as a practitioner and academic. Currently she is a freelance consultant at The Spark and an Associate Lecturer in Public Relations at London College of Communication. Alison is the author of ‘The Public Relations Handbook’ (a principal PR textbook since the 2000s) and co-author with Heather Yaxley of ‘The Public Relations Strategic Toolkit’ (a must read for anyone in PR). You can follow her on Twitter @thesparkuk.

For centuries men and women (have) had very distinct roles in society and business: men were the ones supposed to make money, women were the ones supposed to take care of the children and the household. Such sexual stereotypes have guided the course of society and even today in some cases (and countries and cultures) they still do.

But things have changed. Women are now able to pursue the same career opportunities as men, however when it comes to the workplace it is more than apparent that even if women are just as capable as men doing the very same job they do not reach the leadership positions.

Some may call such inequality in the boardroom total discrimination and injustice, rooted in misconceptions and prejudices passed down over generations where women are seen as week and sensitive.

It is very difficult to dig into the reasons why there are a lot less women in leadership positions than men. It is a fact, however, that there exist serious gender inequities and massive pay gaps between sexes. According to research, women hold only 14 percent of the board seats at S&P 1500 companies. Female graduates in the same job positions earn a lot less than their male counterparts despite laws designed to ensure equal access to careers and pay.

But why?

Digital and social media has been a main area of interest for a number of industries, but it is PR that has been transformed to an unrecognisable state thanks to these new developments. For over a decade now PR professionals have experienced firsthand how social media has affected the practice, but it seems they still haven’t got to grips with it. PR specialists seem to still struggle with this new communications channel.

I didn’t make this conclusion on my own just like that; it was something I discovered while doing proper primary and secondary research for my dissertation about social media’s impact on the PR industry. And as it turns out, a brand new research confirms this lack of digital skills among comms specialists.