Surprise! Men in PR paid $47,500 more than women
The male old-boy network is alive, well, and not only surviving, but thriving in PR’s upper management ranks, according to this salary survey. PR owner Gini Dietrich has started to do something about it.
Nearly 10 years ago when I started Arment Dietrich, I sat in meeting after meeting where the (male) prospect would ask me when they got to meet my husband.
At first I thought, “Oh, how nice. They’d like to socialize with us.” Then I realized I was wrong.
I don’t remember what business it was today, but I remember we were in the final negotiations with a company to close the biggest contract we’d have had.
The men showed up in our conference room, put their Halliburton briefcases on the table, took off their expensive suit jackets—Rolex watches gleaming in the sun coming through the east window—and said they were ready to get down to business.
But, before they signed, they said, they had to meet my male partner.
“I don’t have a male partner,” I said.
“What do you mean?” one of the prospects asked. “Who is running your business?”
“I am,” I proudly said.
The other prospect looked at his business partner and they both slowly stood up. They put their jackets back on and said, “We can’t do business with you.”
And they left.
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