Women | Research Center

The mission of the IPR CDEI is to conduct, support, and promote research and insights relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace focused on six core areas: BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women, intersectionality, disabilities, and mental health.

Research Topics:

Latest Research:

Mind the Gap: Women’s Leadership in Public Relations
Institute for Public Relations
It’s well documented that men hold the vast majority of CEO positions in the top PR agencies, with some estimates topping nearly 80 percent. In an industry that is predominantly women, this makes the gap between men and women especially pronounced. This is part one of a two-part study of mid- to senior-level women and men in public relations to analyze women’s leadership in the field.

A Century After Women Gained the Right To Vote, Americans See Work To Do on Gender Equality
Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Ph.D., Ruth Igielnik
The Pew Research Center conducted a study to examine the feelings of U.S. adults regarding gender equality. A nationally representative online survey of 3,143 U.S. adults was conducted from March 18 to April 1, 2020.

Five Ways Higher Education Can Be Seen as Hostile to Women of Color
Amy Bonomi, Ph.D., Callie Rennison, Ph.D.
Researchers examined the perspectives of 23 female leaders on issues of leadership and the challenges of confronting structural racism, bias and discrimination at colleges and universities. Participants were asked about the challenges that women and women of color face in leadership positions in higher education.


Where are the Women? An Examination of Research on Women and Leadership in Public Relations

Katie Place, Ph.D., Jennifer Vardeman-Winter, Ph.D.
Few studies have considered the effect gender has on leadership enactment and success in public relations. This secondary analysis examined the state of women and gender scholarship about public relations leadership as part of a larger study about the state of women in communications.

Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex
Kimberle Crenshaw, L.L.M.
In this seminal work, Kimberle Crenshaw introduces the concept of “intersectionality,” the intersection and interconnectedness of identities, such as race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, etc.


Women are Maxing Out and Burning Out During COVID-19

LeanIn.Org and Survey Monkey
Women are more likely than men to be experiencing symptoms of stress and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. This report explores how COVID-19 is affecting women’s finances, job security, home life, and overall well-being. Based on an online survey of 3,117 U.S. adults was conducted from April 13-17, 2020.


Intersectionality, Race-Gender Subordination, and Education

Angela Harris, J.D., Zeus Leonardo, Ph.D.
Researchers review the genealogy of “intersectionality”, examine intersectionality’s utility for social analysis, and review how education researchers have explained race and gender subordination in education.



Racial and Gender-Based Differences in the Collegiate Development of Public Relations Majors: Implications for Recruitment and Retention

Kenon A. Brown, Ph.D., Damion Waymer, Ph.D., Ziyuan Zhou
Researchers conducted an online survey of 294 public relations students to understand how current public relations majors experience racial and gender differences in their collegiate experience.

Confronting Whiteness in Public Relations Campaigns and Research with Women
Jennifer Vardeman-Winter, Ph.D.
This study applies the theory of Whiteness (defined as “a location of structural advantage, of race privilege … [and] refers to a set of cultural practices that are usually unmarked and unnamed”) to better understand how public relations professionals can identify the relationship between the public relations practice and race.