16th December 2009

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Young female Public Relations (PR) professionals are only worried about shopping, boys and sex. 

At least, that’s how they are portrayed in ‘chick lit’ novels, according to Emma Catterall, who graduates today (Wednesday 16 December) with an MSc Political Lobbying and Public Affairs. 

Emma, who is from Jordanstown, Co Antrim, carried out research into this genre of fiction writing and found distinctive traits in the way women in PR are portrayed. 

Emma said: “At the top of the PR tree are the senior women who run the firms, and are often portrayed as ‘monsters’ who are unmarried, heartless women with ‘failed’ personal lives.

Then there are the middle-management women who are what would be perceived as ‘normal’ women. They have families and find it a struggle to balance the pressures of work and family life. “Then at the bottom there are the junior PR women in their twenties who are stylish, superficial career-driven women, with a passion for shopping, men, and obsession with appearance.” 

Emma used content analysis of 16 ‘chick lit’ novels during her research.  

“I think the novels have a dual role. As well as providing entertainment, they also seem to be saying that ‘women cannot have it all’ in the hectic world of PR. Most of the middle-management women leave the profession due to the pressures of combining work and family responsibilities. Yet in the real world, as opposed to the world of chick lit, the situation is very different. PR is one of the professions where women have been very successful in shattering the glass ceiling.” 

Emma discovered that PR work is portrayed in chick lit novels as glamorous, chic, and involves rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous, and attending parties.

She said: “Of course, in the real world PR professionals spend most of their time developing and implementing communication strategies and are increasingly involved in improving corporate governance. 

“In my opinion it would be a real shame if the young women who read these novels decide that a PR career is not for them based on the misleading ways in which the profession is portrayed.” 

All this, however, has certainly not turned Emma away from the profession as she is preparing to take up a six-month internship at a PR firm in the United States beginning in February.      

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young