Muna AbuSulayman
Saudi women have come a long way in the workplace, taking up positions in public relations and advertising in recent years. But, despite improved access to education and work in the Kingdom, women make up a very small part of the public relations sector, occupying less than quarter of the jobs across the world.
“Women are mostly used as the faces for PR campaigns and sometimes seen in event management but Public Relations is mostly a male game,” says Muna AbuSulayman, Media Personality and Development expert. “Unfortunately, except for a very few firms, most public relations efforts are amateurish.”
On a global scale, women make up more than 60 percent of the public relations specialists and in Saudi Arabia women entering into the PR fields has been growing with communication companies and departments witnessing more women executives.
Sarah Ayed Al-Ayed
“While women dominate the PR industry from an operational perspective we look forward to seeing more involvement on the strategy development and in the boardrooms,” said Sarah Ayed Al-Ayed, Co-Founder and Partner of TRACCS. “There are hundreds of PR, communications, marketing, event management agencies in the region but very few are dedicated public relations specialists.”
She added that with the changes in the communications era and the entry of digital media, the industry itself is evolving giving women a chance to further integrate themselves in this unique field.
Most sectors in the kingdom are currently witnessing the entry of women in senior managerial positions, although there a lot of women working in the industries. Al-Ayed believes that empowering women in the PR industry can motive them to take up leadership positions in the workplace.
“Empowering women in the field of communication gives her the necessary skills and positioning to be able to handle any other management positions,” she said. “PR specialists are an integral component in all organizations, while communication is the key in each and every entity and department whether on an internal or external level. PR works alongside every department to ensure the messaging and dialogue is constant; preempting issues so that no crisis erupts.”
Commenting on how previous experience in the public relations field can influence leadership positions for Saudi women in their workplace, AbuSulayman stated that public relations is about how do you mold narratives and influence people’s perception. “Having female leadership is important as it will allow for the representation and understanding of half of society. Diversity is very important in the creative sectors.”
She further stated that as more women specialized in media, digital media, psychology, design, business and public relations come back, there will be a shift in the industry. “I think public relations has been confined to media campaigns and press releases and we have not seen a lot about working with the DNA of companies and organizations to create campaigns that truly reflect the best of those companies.”
Meanwhile Al-Ayed commented on the future of the PR industry in the Saudi Arabia saying, “PR sets the dialogue and image of any organization; for women in business, setting the values and traits for their organizations from the onset will be the key in their position growth and imagining a major role in how their business and positioning is perceived and grown.”
