Research, research, and
The survey was conducted among 2,500 public relations professionals from the UK, focusing on issues and trends around current practice, standards, budgets, skills and career development.
For the first time, non-members of the CIPR also took part in the survey, broadening the scope and the representativeness of the research.
Overall, the study this year revealed that Public Relations is at a crossroads. Nevertheless, Stephen Waddington, President of the CIPR, believes that "what we see is a terrific opportunity for anybody that is willing to embrace change."
I welcome change. And I believe that there are some fundamental things in the PR business (well, frankly in any business) that should change - one is the issue of gender inequality, another is diversity, and third is qualifications.
In fact, these are three of the areas discussed in the findings that I want to talk about today. Don't get me wrong - there are many positive things and much progress made presented in the study. But advancing the conversation about these problematic areas and putting them in focus is how we are going to solve them.
Why these three areas?
Well, you've already seen how many times I've spoken about gender diversity and the difficulties women face when reaching for the top. It's an issue that needs to be vocally expressed again and again until it's solved.
Till some point, I also personally relate to the diversity issue - as originally Bulgarian, I am a foreigner in Germany. I am not native in the language, I come from a different culture. Believe me, fitting in is EXTREMELY difficult. And it has to be a two-way thing.
Finally, I chose the issue about qualifications because I think that practical excellence is based on a strong theoretical and academic background. Education and continuous learning, not just ambition, make up a career.
So, here we go with the findings:
And finally, here's something else not directly related to the above areas, but I still find it intriguing - seems that the PR industry is quite the stressful industry as more than half of public relations professionals feel under pressure:
Again, this is yet another research that highlights the massive inequality between men and women in the workplace. This is a serious issue and I, as a woman working in PR aiming to eventually reach the top, hope that I will be given the opportunity to really go for it.
Here's what Stephen Waddington said about the gender issue: “A truly professional discipline does not accept having a pay gap between men and women who are doing exactly the same jobs.” I agree.
I'm hopeful. Are you? What can we do?
Here's the infographic summarising the key findings:
(Click on the infographic for a larger view)
Images and infographic from CIPR