Women Win! - PR Week Awards- Part 1

My affiliation with British Public Relations industry could be defined as admiration from a distance.


I cannot look at the field from the inside and see for myself why women rock this business. I need guidance badly, I don’t even know who is who . So, most of last week I spent going through heaps of PR Week, and one edition captured my attention – PR Week awards.


If a credible ranking in UK’s Public Relations exists, that should be it. So, some curious facts:


1.Category: People & Agencies


Nomination: Freelance Achievement of the Year


% of women nominees: 100%

1. Vikki Rimmer (Winner!)


2. Maria Boyle


3. Amanda Johnson
   
   Specifically, I found out that:

• Vikki Rimmer likes trouffles

Here is what she says: “ It's been a long and difficult journey to get to this point, and not just the last 20 yards in my gold six inch sandals!.. I wasn't expecting to win, the other two finalists had completed some superb work in the past year and were fantastic finalists. So, I nearly choked on my truffle when they announced my name as winner, my first thought was, 'Oh my god, I've got to go up on stage!”[1]

• Maria Boyle, 36 is a mother of 2 and set her own business only a year ago
  

According to the info on her website, “Maria Boyle formed her own company to combine the two things she ispassionate about: working in PR and helping people improve and develop their communication skills.[2]

Today, West London based Maria advises a range of clients and undertakes projects for HarperCollins, Penguin, Pearson, Rough Guides, as well as the UK's fastest growing carbon responsible charity Cool Earth. She also provides training to a range of teams working both in-house and for many of the UK's top PR agencies.”

It looks like in order to succeed in PR, a woman has to be twice as good as a man. While man has higher chances to be noticed just because he'll stand out by being a minority. The more I learn about PR in the UK the more I am assured of this unfair state of affairs.

And besides, such relevant personal traits, vital to success in PR, as persuasive manner, authoritative looks and eloquence are simply more associated with male character, making it tougher for women to succeed. Nevertheless, the awards prove the contrary.

Actually, there is another ranking in PR Week which will provide numerous counter-arguments to my opinion. But I’ll save it for my next posting. It’s late, and I need to get some sleep before hitting the sales – it’s Boxing Day, after all :)

[1] http://www.presscontact.blogspot.com/
[2] www.mbcomms.co.uk