Why It's So Important to Learn about Women in PR History

When we show "Public Relations -- And that Means You"--  the March of Time newsreel that had been shown to 20 million moviegoers in 1947--  audiences today are astounded to see in the sea of suited up white men: No Professional women and No people of color.

Early on in the film, we do see one woman. She is obviously a secretary, working for the head of the Albin Dearing PR agency, and also quite possibly trying to work her way up the ladder. During those post war days, the only point of entry for women--both white and people of color-- was via the secretarial pool. And even then, the odds were against you: The better you did your job as secretary, the longer the company wanted to keep you right there, rarely having the chance to show your true talents.In an early scene of the newsreel, Albin orders her to get him a plane ticket to Denver...right away! He has just been called by a  new client who wants Dearing to work on transforming the old coal mining town of Aspen, CO into a "ski center," an assignment Dearing will take on with great confidence and enthusiasm.  Dearing is then seen opening up a book about the old mining town, and rushes it out to the secretary's desk, a few feet from his own office door."

Make me a summary of this book! " he demands.  "If it's any good,I'll read it myself!" then turns to return to his office.  The tone of voice he suddenly uses with the secretary compared to the tone he had moments before used with the client is striking.At this point, I often stop the film and let the young viewers respond.  They look aghast, bewildered. They ask, how couldanyman treat a woman like that in the office? Was this common behavior back then? Were there no agency guidelines to follow?

Where was the HR department?

Now, we must realize this was only a dramatization of a "typical day in the PR industry," and not a documentary.  So the scriptwriter made no bones about capturing a realistic dialogue, reflecting the common  dynamic between a boss and his subservient secretary.There are many instructive scenes in this 16 minute newsreel. But for many, this scene stands out.  It shows office behavior few alive today can remember. But for any of us who remember the first season or so of Mad Men, which took place in 1960, this kind of belittling, sexist and condescending behavior toward women rings all too true.

This was a culture that too many women in the PR world faced in PR up through the 1970s. The women trying to get to the top had few, if any, predecessors to learn from, or peers to lean on. Most were the only women in the room, if they were able to get into the room at all (without a coffee pot or steno pad in hand).There were, of course, many exceptions:  Doris Fleischman Bernays, Barbara Hunter (with sister Jean Schoonover), Inez Kaiser, Denny Griswold, Muriel Fox and Gertrude Bailey.  One woman who managed to break through those forbidding ranks of white men was Marilyn Laurie, who became the first woman CCO of AT&T, then the world's largest company. As the one woman in the AT&T boardroom, Laurie counseled the company officers on the biggest crises AT&T faced in the 1980s and 90s, while leading a PR staff of 900 professionals around the world. Read about Laurie's extraordinary journey here: https://prmuseumpress.com/collections/frontpage/products/marilyn-a-woman-in-charge-ebookThen there is Inez Kaiser, a woman who broke throughbothgender and racial barriers. All the more stunning is that Kaiser opened her own PR firm in the South, right as the Civil Rights era was heating up.  Kaiser's inspiring story was published for the first time last year in this book, "Women in PR History:" https://www.routledge.com/Women-in-PR-History/Theofilou/p/book/9780367476595For stories of modern-day women in PR, who demonstrated the ultimate in courage, talent and perseverance, read the profiles in "Diverse Voices," published by the PRSA Foundation. The women represent corporations, agencies and academia, with a variety of racial and enthnic backgrounds.  The books, which are now used by a variety of colleges and universities, can be found here: https://www.prsafoundation.org/what-we-do/diverse-voices/So why is it important to learn the history of women in PR?  Because at a time when the vast majority of the industry is made up of women, it's easy to forget that it wasn't always like this, that there were dozens of courageous women who came before us, so that we may be where we are today.  During Women's History Month, we need to honor those women by remembering their lives, their battles and their distinctive achievements.

Shelley Spector - PR Masters Series

About the Author: 

Named as one of the “most innovative” professionals in the field, Spector has produced award-winning campaigns for some of the world’s top corporations, including AT&T, Bayer, ITT Corporation, Forest Laboratories, Harris Corporation, and Philips.   

Spector co-founded the firm in 1991. Within the first year of operation the firm was awarded the Gold Creativity in Public Relations Award for client Embassy Suites.  Since then, the firm has won more than 50 national awards for a variety of Fortune 100 companies. In June 2018, she was presented with the Phil Dorf award for leadership and mentorship at the PRSA New York Big Apple Awards. 

Prior to co-founding the firm, Spector worked in financial relations for Hill & Knowlton, RuderFinn and Lobsenz-Stevens. She also served as press director for the American Stock Exchange.  

In 1997, she co-founded the Museum of Public Relations, the world’s first and only museum dedicated to preserving and exhibiting the history of the field. It is a 501(c)(3) educational institution, chartered by the New York State Department of Education.

Spector serves as an adjunct professor for the graduate Corporate Communications graduate programs at both Baruch College and NYU. She is a frequent guest speaker at academic, industry and corporate events, talking on subjects ranging from “PR in History” to “The Diversity Imperative,” to “Developing Big Ideas.” She is author of “Public Relations for the Public Good” and co-editor of the book, “Diverse Voices: Profiles in Leadership,” with the PRSA Foundation.

A graduate of the Journalism program at the University of Rhode Island, Spector earned an M.S. in Radio/TV/Film at the Newhouse School, Syracuse University.