Constructing Public Relations as a Women’s Profession IN Russia / Construyendo las relaciones públicas como una profesión de mujeres en Rusia

Authors

  • Katerina Tsetsura University of Oklahoma

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5783/revrrpp.v4i8.293

Keywords:

Relaciones Públicas

Abstract

Abstract

This study examines how public relations can be understood, perceived, and ultimately constructed as a profession through professionals’ everyday discourses. The article explores what it means for public relations practitioners to be considered professionals in the field that is actively developing in many parts of the world. The goal was to expand the understanding of what constitutes the profession of public relations through a qualitative analysis of work-centered discourses of practitioners. The results demonstrated that, specifically in Russia, similar to many other countries, public relations is often seen as a profession that is better suited for women than men due to historical, socio-economic, and societal factors as well as due to pre-conceived notions about public relations. This study contributes to a new theoretical understanding of public relations as a socially constructed profession and demonstrates how construction of this profession can both propel and slow down the development of the practice.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Aldoory, L. (2005). A (re)conceived feminist paradigm for public relations: A case for substantial improvement. Journal of Communication, 55, 668-683.

Aldoory, L., & Toth, E. (2002). Gender discrepancies in a gendered profession: A developing theory for public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 14, 103-126.

AlSaqer, L. (2008). Experience of female public relations practitioners in Bahrain. Public Relations Review, 34, 77-79.

Andsager, J. L., & Hust, S. J. (2005). Differential gender orientation in public relations: Implications for career choices. Public Relations Review, 31, 85-91.

Ashcraft, K. L. (2005). Resistance through consent?: Occupational identity, organizational form, and the maintenance of masculinity among commercial airline pilots. Management Communication Quarterly, 19, 67-90.

Ashcraft, K. L., & Mumby, D. K. (2004). Organizing critical communicology of gender and work. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 166, 19-43.

Behrman, J. N. (1988). Essays on ethics in business and the professions. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Beliaeva, G.F, Gorshkova, I. D., & Kostikova, I. V. (2001).University women: Sketches for a portrait. Russian Education and Society, 43, 6-27.

Botan, C. H., & Taylor, M. (2004). Public relations: State of the field. Journal of Communication, 54, 645-661.

Braun, S. L. (2007). The effects of the political environment on public relations in Bulgaria. Journal of Public Relations Research, 19, 199-228.

Brunner, B. (2006). Where are the women? A content analysis of introductory public relations textbooks. Public Relations Quarterly, 51, 43-47.

Buzzanell, P. M. (1995). Reframing the glass ceiling as a socially constructed process: Implications for understanding and change. Communication Monographs, 62, 327-354.

Cheney, G., & Ashcraft, K. L. (2007). Considering “the professional” in communication studies: Implications for theory and research within and beyond the boundaries of organizational communication. Communication Theory, 17, 146-175.

Creedon. P. J. (1991). Public relations and “women’s work”: Toward a feminist analysis of public relations roles. Public Relations Research Annual, 3, 67-84.

Denzin, N. K. (2006). Sociological methods: A source book (methodological perspectives). Piscataway, NJ: Aldine Transaction.

DeSanto, B., Moss, D., & Newman, A. (2007). Building an understanding of the main elements of management in the communication/public relations context: A study of U.S. practitioners’ practice. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 84, 439-454.

Dougherty, D. S. (2001). Sexual harassment as [dys]functional process: A feminist standpoint analysis. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 29, 372-402.

Dozier, D. M., & Broom, G. M. (1995). Evolution of the manager role in public relations practice. Journal of Public Relations Research, 7, 3–26.

Etzioni, A. (1969). The semi-professions and their organizations. New York: Free Press.

Everbach, T., & Flournoy, C. (2007). Women leave journalism for better pay, work conditions. Newspaper Research Journal, 28, 52-64.

Fitzpatrick, K., & Gauthier, C. (2001). Toward a professional responsibility theory of public relations ethics. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 16, 193-212.

Frőhlich, R. (2004). Feminine and feminist values in communication professions: Exceptional skills and expertise or “friendliness trap?” In M. de Bruin & K. Ross (Eds.), Gender and newsroom cultures: Identities at work (pp. 65-77). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton.

Frőhlich, R., & Peters, S. B. (2007). PR bunnies caught in the agency ghetto? Gender stereotypes, organizational factors, and women’s careers in PR agencies. Journal of Public Relations Research, 19, 229-254.

Gaither, T. K., & Curtin, P. A. (2008). Examining the heuristic value of models of international public relations practice: A case study of the Arla Foods crisis. Journal of Public Relations Research, 20, 115-137.

Grunig, J. E., Grunig, L. A., Sriramesh, K., Yi-Hui, H., & Lyra, A. (1995). Models of public relations in an international setting. Journal of Public Relations Research, 7, 163-186.

Grunig, L. A. (2006). Feminist phase analysis in public relations: Where have we been?

Where do we need to be? Journal of Public Relations Research, 18, 115-140.

Grunig, L. A., Grunig, J. E., & Dozier, D. (2002). Excellent public relations and effective organizations: A study of communication management in three countries. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Gupta, S. (2007). Professionalism in Indian public relations and corporate communications: An empirical analysis. Public Relations Review, 33, 306-312.

Hardin, M., & Shain, S. (2006). “Feeling much smaller than you know you are”: The fragmented professional identity of female sports journalists. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23, 322-338.

Holtzhausen, D. R., Petersen, B. K., & Tindall, N. T. (2003). Exploding the myth of the symmetrical/asymmetrical dichotomy: Public relations models in the new South Africa. Journal of Public Relations Research, 15, 305-341.

Hon, L. (2007). How public relations knowledge has entered public relations practice. In E. L. Toth (Ed.), The future of excellence in public relations and communication management: Challenges for the next generation (pp. 3-23). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Ihlen, O. (2010). The cursed sisters: Public relations and rhetoric. In R. L. Heath (Ed.), The handbook of public relations (2nd edition) (pp. 59-70). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Kent, M. L., Harrison, T. R., & Taylor, M. (2006). A critique of Internet polls as symbolic representation and pseudo-events. Communication Studies, 57, 299-315.

Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M. (2007). Beyond excellence: Extending the generic approach to international public relations: The case of Bosnia. Public Relations Review, 33, 10-20.

Kent, M., Taylor, M., & Trucilo, L. (2006). Public relations by newly privatized businesses in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Public Relations Review, 32, 10-17.

Kirat, M. (2006). Public relations in the United Arab Emirates: The emergence of a profession. Public Relations Review, 32, 254-260.

Klubock, T. M. (1996). Working-class masculinity, middle-class morality, and labor politics in the Chilean copper mines. Journal of Social History, 30, 435-463.

Knights, D., & Willmott, H. (1999). Management lives: Power and identity in work organizations. London: Sage.

Lindlof, T. R. (1995). Qualitative communication research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Lucas, K., & Buzzanell, P. (2004). Blue-collar work, career, and success: Occupational narratives of sisu. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 32, 273-292.

Marks, A., Scholarios, D., & Lockyer, C. (2002, July). Identifying a profession: The creation of professional identities within software work. Paper presented at the 18th Egos Colloquium, Barcelona, Spain.

McLaren, P. (1993). Border disputes: Multicultural narrative, identity formation, and critical pedagogy in post modern America. In D. McLaughlin & W. Tierney (Eds.), Naming silenced lives—personal narratives and the process of educational change (pp. 201–236). New York: Routledge.

Metcalfe, B. D., & Afanassieva, M. (2005). Gender, work, and equal opportunities in central and eastern Europe. Women in Management Review, 20, 397-411.

Minaeva, L. V. (2012). Vnutricorporativanyje sv’azi c obshchestvennost’u. [Internal Public Relations]. Moscow: Aspekt-Press.

Minaeva, L. V., & Sabirova, D. (2012). Challengers to PR educators in modern Russia. Russian School of Public Relations, 4.

Molleda, J.-C., & Ferguson, M. A. (2004). Public relations roles in Brazil: Hierarchy eclipses gender differences. Journal of Public Relations Research, 16, 327-351.

Molleda, J.-C. & Moreno, Á. (2008). Balancing public relations with socioeconomic and political environments in transition: Comparative, contextualized research in Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. Journalism & Communication Monographs, 10, 115-174.

Morimoto, M., & Wrigley, B. (2003, May). Is it really a woman’s world?: Experience of female public relations practitioners in Asia. Paper presented at the International Communication Association annual meeting, San Diego, CA.

Motiejunaite, A., & Kravchenko, Z. (2008). Family policy, employment and gender-role attitudes: a comparative analysis of Russia and Sweden. Journal of European Social Policy,18, 38-49.

Neijens, P. & Smit, E. (2006). Dutch public relations practitioners and journalists: Antagonists no more. Public Relations Review, 32, 232-240.

Oakley, A. (1998). Gender, methodology and people’s ways of knowing: Some problems with feminism and the paradigm debate in social science. Sociology, 32, 707-731.

Pfau, M., & Wan, H.-H. (2006). Persuasion: An intrinsic function of public relations. In C. H. Botan & V. Hazleton (Eds.), Public relations theory II (pp. 88-119). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Pieczka, M. (2007). Case studies as narrative accounts of public relations practice. Journal of Public Relations Research, 19, 333-356.

Popkova, L. (2005). Political empowerment of women in Russia; Discourses and strategies. Sociologija. Mintis ir veiksmas, 1, 96-109.

Prikaz #686 (2000, 2 March). Spetsialnost svyazi s obschestvennostju (public relations) utverzhdena prikazom #686 Ministerstva Obrazovaniya Rossijskoj Federatsii ot 2 marta, 2000. [Order #686 of the Ministry of Higher Education of the Russian Federation to establish a major in public relations, 2 March, 2000]. Retrieved from http://eduscan.net/standart/030602

Prikaz #221 (2010, 29 March). Federalnyj gosudarstvennyj obrazovatelnyj standart vysshego professionalnogo obrazovaniya po napravleniu podgotovki 031600 Reklama i svyazi s obschestvennostju. [Federal government educational standard for higher professional education with specialization 031600 Advertising and Public Relations]. Retrieved from http://mgup.ru/public/files/388.pdf

Rakow, L. F. (1989). A bridge to the future: Re-visioning gender in communication. In P. J. Creedon (Ed.), Women in mass communication: Challenging gender values (pp. 299-312). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Russian Public Relations Society (2012). Otsenka sovremennogo sostoyaniya i perspektiva rossijskogo rynka PR-uslug [Evaluation of the current state and opportunities for the Russian market of PR-services]. Retrieved from http://www.sovetnik.ru/research/?id=14342

Russo, T. C. (1998). Organizational and professional identification. Management Communication Quarterly, 12, 72-111.

Schwartz, J. S. (1979). Women under socialism: Role definitions of Soviet women. Social Forces, 58, 67-84.

Simorangkir, D. (2011). The impact of the feminization of the public relations industry in Indonesia on communication practice. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 5, 26-48.

Sinyaeva, I. M. (2000). Public relations v kommercheckoj deyatelnosti (Public relations in commerce). Moskva: Unity.

Stivers, C. (2002). Gender images in public administration: Legitimacy and the administrative state (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research. London: Sage.

Sveshnikoff, A. (2005, May 7). PR in Russia: Gloom vs. growth. Weber Schandwick Outcomes. Retrieved from http://www.webershandwick.co.uk/outcomes/issue7/topstory.html

Taylor, M. (2010). Public relations in the enactment of civil society. In R. L. Heath (Ed.), The handbook of public relations (2nd edition) (pp. 5-16). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Terry. V. (2005). Postcard from the Steppes: A snapshot of public relations and culture in Kazakhstan. Public Relations Review, 31, 31-36.

Thiel, S. (2004). Shifting identities, creating new paradigms: Analyzing identities of women online journalists. Feminist Media Studies, 4, 1-36.

Toledano, M., McKie, D., & Roper, J. (2004). Theorising practice: Public relations power, US symmetrical theory, and Israeli asymmetric campaigns. Australian Journal of Communication, 31, 59-69.

Tompkins, P. K., & Cheney, G. (1985). Communication and unobtrusive control in contemporary organizations. In R. D. McPhee, & P. K. Tompkins (Eds.), Organizational communication: Traditional themes and new directions (pp. 123-146). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Tsetsura, K. (2003). The development of public relations in Russia: A geopolitical approach. In K. Sriramesh, & D. Verčič (Eds.), A handbook of international public relations (pp. 301-319). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc. Inc.

Tsetsura, K. (2010). Social construction and public relations. In R. L. Heath (Ed.), The handbook of public relations (2nd edition) (pp. 163-175). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Tsetsura, K. (2011). Is public relations a real job? How female practitioners construct the profession. Journal of Public Relations Research, 23(1), 1-23.

Tsetsura, K., & Kruckeberg, D. (2004). Theoretical development of public relations in Russia. In D. J. Tilson (Ed.), Toward the common good: Perspectives in international public relations (pp. 176-192). Boston: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.

Tsetsura, K., & Kruckeberg, D. (2009). Corporate reputation: Beyond measurement. Public Relations Journal, 3(3). Retrieved from http://www.prsa.org/SearchResults/download/6D-030303/0/Corporate_Reputation_Beyond_Measuremen

Valentini, C., & Kruckeberg, D. (2011). Public relations and trust in contemporary global society: A Luhmannian perspective of the role of public relations in enhancing trust among social systems. Central European journal of communication, 4, 89-105.

Van Heerden, G., & Rensburg, R. (2005). Public relations role empirically verified among public relations practitioners in Africa. Communicare, 24, 69-88.

Van Ruler, B. (2004). The communication grid: An introduction of a model four communication strategies. Public Relations Review, 30, 123-143.

Van Ruler, B., & de Lange, R. (2003). Barriers to communication management in the executive suite. Public Relations Review, 29, 145-158.

Van Ruler, B., Verčič, D., Bütschi, G., & Flodin, B (2004). A first look for parameters of public relations in Europe. Journal of Public Relations Research, 16, 35-63.

Vanc, A., & White, C. (2011). Cultural perceptions of public relations gender roles in Romania. Public Relations Review, 37, 103-105.

Verčič, D. (2003). Public relations in a corporativist country: The case of Slovenia. In K, Sriramesh, & D. Verčič (Eds.), A Handbook of international public relations (pp. 281-300). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Wakefield, R. I. (2007). A retrospective on world class: The excellence theory goes international. In E. L. Toth (Ed.), The future of excellence in public relations and communication management: Challenges for the next generation (pp. 545-568). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Walker, M. (2001). “Engineering identities.” British Journal of Sociology of Education, 22,

-30.

White, A. (2005). Gender roles in contemporary Russia: Attitudes and expectations among women students. Europe-Asia Studies, 57, 429-455.

Wrigley, B. J. (2002). Glass ceiling? What glass ceiling? A qualitative study of how women view the glass ceiling in public relations and communications management. Journal of Public Relations Research, 14, 27-55.

Wu, M.-Y. (2006). Perceptions about male and female managers in the Taiwanese public relations field: Stereotypes and strategies for change. Public Relations Quarterly, 51,

-42.

Wu, M.-Y. (2010). Gender and cultural influences on expected leadership styles in the Taiwanese public relations field: Transformational and transactional leadership styles. China Media Research, 6, 37-46.

Young, I. M. (1987). Impartiality and the civic public. In S. Benhabib & D. Cornell (Eds.), Feminism as critique (pp. 57-76). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Published

2014-10-28

How to Cite

Tsetsura, K. (2014). Constructing Public Relations as a Women’s Profession IN Russia / Construyendo las relaciones públicas como una profesión de mujeres en Rusia. International Journal of Public Relations, 4(8), 85–110. https://doi.org/10.5783/revrrpp.v4i8.293

Issue

Section

MONOGRÁFICO: RELACIONES PÚBLICAS EN EUROPA