This abstract is summarized by IPR from the original journal article published in the Journal for Public Relations Education.
Kenon Brown, Damion Waymer and Ziyuan Zhou, designed this study to expand on the work of Waymer, Brown, Fears, and Baker (2018) to understand how current public relations majors experience racial and gender differences in their collegiate experience.
Researchers conducted an online survey of 294 current undergraduate public relations students.
Key findings include:
– Students from underrepresented populations were less likely to build a professional network in PR, build a strong support group among other public relations students, and experience comfort interacting with other students in the classroom and in extracurricular activities.
– Students from underrepresented groups felt that their peers valued their contributions in a PR setting less than their white respondent counterparts.
– Male respondents also felt that their peers valued their contributions in a PR setting less than their female counterparts.
– Women were more likely than males to experience greater satisfaction in both their educational and social experiences, with results showing that females typically get more out of classroom experiences, have more opportunities to network and intern, and gain more valuable leadership experiences.
Read the full study to learn how PR educators can improve the college experience for underrepresented public relations students.
Citation:
Brown, K. A., Waymer, D., & Zhou, Z. (2019). Racial and Gender-Based Differences in the Collegiate Development of Public Relations Majors: Implications for Under-represented Recruitment and Retention. Journal of Public Relations Education.
