A Love Letter to Women in PR

When the effusively ambitious Parks and Recreation character Leslie Knope introduced the world to the idea of Galentines Day, I was ecstatic. Despite not being a regular follower of the show, the idea grabbed me. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, the basic idea is this: make February 13^th a day where ladies can celebrate other ladies. In the era of Lean In and a female-dominated PR industry, this should not feel like such a big deal; but for some reason it still does. That’s why this year, I wanted to take a hint from Pawnee’s favorite public servant, and draft a love letter to all of the other women in PR. Here it goes. Dear Women of the PR Industry, 2015 is a great time to be practicing public relations. This is especially true for us women. Whether you spend your days doing reputation management, integrated marketing, media relations or any other kind of PR, we’ve got a lot to look forward to. In fact, over 64% of us are optimistic about what 2015 may hold, and with good reason. Our chosen career path puts us among the top median-weekly wage earners for women  in the workforce, but that certainly isn’t the only reason to celebrate. It turns out that the trend towards digital may lead to a less stressful life for us! Evidence also shows that nearly 75% of young professionals agree that the organizations we represent are making the world a better place. For our more seasoned colleagues, some studies have indicated that woman’s collaborative tendencies could make us stronger leaders of countries and in the workforce. Of course, it’s not always going to be big media hits and professional advances. We’re inevitably going to face our fair share of comms crises and accidental tweets. The great news is, we’ve got fabulous networks (like WWPR!), that support us and keep us going. We’re out there working hard, and we’re helping each other. Can it get much better than that? So here’s to you women of the PR industry! We’ve got a lot to love about our careers and we’re in this together. Happy Galentines Day, indeed. So there you have it – what else are you celebrating this year? What would you include in a love letter to the women of the PR industry? Alexandra Dickinson is Director and Chief of Staff at Beekeeper Group, and co-Dean of the DC Chapter of the Awesome Foundation. She’s a huge mediaphile and loves all things digital! Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Washington Women in Public Relations