Having entered the workforce in the late 90s, I always thought the world of public relations presented endless opportunities. My first “real” PR job was at Rubenstein & Associates, in New York City, the quintessential publicity shop, where weekly media placement reports were typed on carbon paper using massive silver Brother typewriters. The reports were then distributed to all the head honchos, many of whom were female.
It’s hard to imagine a time when PR was not dominated by female professionals. However, when Ruth Jacobson entered the field in the 50s, it was more common for women to stay at home than work in any office, let alone as a professional in the high-powered world of advertising, PR and marketing. According to a news story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jacobson was the first female executive to work at Fleishman-Hillard and the first senior female partner at the firm. She graduated from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism and worked on big brand accounts such as Anheuser-Busch. I would love to have been a fly on the wall to see how she navigated that testosterone-heavy account team – having watched an episode or two of Mad Men, I can just imagine the condescending (and sometimes offensive) comments that got thrown her way.
Now as a vice president at Rose Communications, a female-owned and -operated firm, I am a testament to how the roles have been reversed. The X chromosome now dominates the PR profession. I sometimes wonder what if a male colleague had to endure conversations about child rearing, breast feeding, PMS and various other female-orientated topics that make their way into our water cooler chatter? According to a diversity tracking survey conducted by BPRI Group, 66 percent of employees at public relations agencies are female. I believe we have Ms. Jacobson to thank for that.
The industry lost a trailblazer last week when Jacobson died due to complications from congestive heart failure at the age of 84. While she may be gone, her legacy will live on. Thanks to her, PR executives in their mid-30s, such as me, are oblivious to the “glass ceiling.” The opportunities for female public relations professionals remain endless.