IPR is featuring research and some of the many Indigenous pioneers who have had an impact on the field of public relations.
Dr. Treena Clark and colleagues analyzed the contemporary experiences and contributions of Indigenous women in the public relations industry.
Interviews were conducted with five indigenous women from different Indigenous groups/nations across Australia, working in public relations or communications. The participants discussed themes of Indigenous Australian public relations and Indigenous women’s experiences.
Key findings include:
1.) Respondents felt pressure to balance Indigenous protocols and values with wider public relations strategies.
2.) Respondents experienced the “systemic privileging of non-Indigenous standpoints” and said practices within the field offered little promise of meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities and peoples.
3.) Respondents reported feeling like they had “to be exceptional to go far,” which had been reflected in other Australian public relations women’s and feminist discussions.
4.) Respondents said workplace burnout not only resulted from long hours and weekend work, but also from upsetting cultural pressures, community obligations, manifested effects of colonization within the workplace, racism, and not being able to fully “clock off” the job when “you live and breathe Indigeneity.”
Read the original research here.
