At the beginning of the year, McKinsey&Company released the findings of their latest survey on gender and workplace diversity.

You already know how seriously interested I am in this topic. My contribution towards tackling the gender inequality issue in the workforce is speaking up by blogging and sharing such research with as many people as possible. Advancing the conversation about this global problem is the only way to solve it.

McKinsey found that even though companies have implemented some measures to improve gender diversity, significant progress hasn't yet been made. Corporate culture remains a critical factor that either supports or hinders that progress.

According to the research results, even if females are ambitious and strive to become top managers knowing they have the abilities and skills to do so, they are not convinced that their company's culture will actually support their rise. I believe this is a serious barrier against tackling one of the major challenges for businesses and economies, as identified this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Companies and their leaders should instead be encouraging female ambition and growth, not stopping or undermining it.

18 February was my one-year anniversary at my current agency Brandzeichen. This was an important milestone for me to look back and think about what I've done, learned, experienced and achieved during that year at one of the fastest growing brand communications agencies in Germany. It's also a great cornerstone to relate those experiences to my passion for PR and social media and to why exactly I am pursuing a career in the industry.

As I've said before, it seems that quite a few of my readers find my blog by googling "why work in PR".

What is it really to work in PR?

I tell you, it is difficult to explain... It's challenging, it's exciting, it's fast moving, it's dynamic, it's always changing - yes, yes, I've already explained that in my previous "why do I want to work in PR" editions here and here.

The reasons I've listed in those two posts are still relevant today, but because I do not want to repeat myself and because I want to reflect this post more to what I've learned over the past year, here are the '2014' reasons why I want to work in PR and in social media in particular (my current job role is a Social Media Account Manager after all):

7 Reasons Why I Want to Work in PR: 

Over the past few weeks I’ve seen quite a few reviews of 2013 and pieces making predictions and sharing tips for 2014. For once I've decided to follow the crowd and share my point of view and my 2014 advice regarding the PR profession. How is this post different from the others? Well, the list of 9 traits of the future PR pro is based on my personal observations and experiences, but was also inspired by some interesting research findings (you know me, I love research!) and by the pieces of two PR professionals I highly respect.

Getting straight to the point, according to a new research by the European Communication Professional Skills and Innovation Programme (ECOPSI) the PR profession has a long way to go until it matures.

The ECOPSI is a European funded project that maps and evaluates the current and future competences of communications practitioners across Europe. The overall finding when it comes to the skills and competences of communications professionals is that PR is indeed a maturing discipline, but there are on-going gaps and deficiencies in the professional advancement of individuals. Formal qualification and life-long learning are the key aspects here – basically the need for further knowledge acquisition and skills development.

We’ve all heard numerous stereotypes about men and women. I, myself, have written on the topic. It isn’t news that men and women are viewed differently in our society, and so are their capabilities and virtues. For example, a successful male leader is mostly called strong because he’s the real boss; a successful female leader on the other hand is often labeled as ‘bitchy’. Exactly such stereotypes and gender labeling are brilliantly exposed in an emotional new ad by Pantene Philippines that I want to show you today.

In less than 60 seconds the commercial covers five double standards women often face and so brilliantly tells the story of how men and women with identical work behaviour are seen differently. For example, a male speaker is “persuasive”, while a female speaker is “pushy”; a well-dressed male is “smooth”, a well-dressed lady is seen as “show-off”.

The ad is sincere, with a strong, but simple message that has nothing to do with what Pantene actually sells (hair products).

This is not a regular blog post that you are about to read. With the following I want to share with you one of the proudest moments and biggest achievements of my life that just confirms my passion for social media and PR and my drive and motivation to have a stellar career in the industry.

What am I talking about? Well, I am mentioned as a student pioneer in building a personal brand online in one of the most awaited books of the year on social media and PR.

The book in question is the follow-up of the best-selling Share This, published by The Chartered Institute for Public Relations – the UK’s professional body for PR practitioners. The sequel, Share This Too, is a practical book, written by 24 public relations professionals to address the use of social media for PR and offer guidelines for various areas such as online media relations, measuring and monitoring etc., which practitioners can apply in their work. The foreword of the book was written by Brian Solis – a pioneer in the field (whom I am a big fan of), which only shows how important this book for the industry is. Furthermore, the book is already a best seller being the number 1 in Amazon Hot New Releases as well as among the top 20 PR books. It is also attracting a lot of online buzz.

I am proud to be part of one of the book chapters,