PRPOI: Inspiring Quotes from Women in Communication & Media

This International Women’s Day, this is a blog you must read to be and stay and inspired by strong voices from the Communication & Media Industry to encourage you to continue on your path to the leadership team…all the way to the top. Let’s create a more equal world in the industry:

 

 

 

The field of communications has for decades offered vast opportunities for women, and while women still face challenges in reaching the very top, the women in leadership positions in communications serve as role models. They prove that leadership is not a gender-based trait. If anything, these leaders have shown that empathy and other so-called feminine traits are hallmarks of great leadership and truly the ones that embody them shall inherit the earth.

 

 

 

 

 

Women in PR have indeed proved that soft skills and soft power rule this field. As natural multi-taskers, as well sharper interpersonal skills, women have always been naturals at PR, from crisis communication to internal comms as well as leading the brigade in external communications. What we really need more of is encouraging entrepreneurship and leadership for women in this field so that they can play the larger role they truly deserve. Also, we must review options to retain talent in the field as women sometimes opt-out at mid and senior-level positions due to family commitments.

 

 

 

 

Women naturally possess intuition, empathy, emotional intelligence, and the ability to multitask. When they are supported at home, and within their workspace, there is no ceiling that can hold them down. As a woman in a leadership position, I choose to empower the women around me to see their strengths and own their space.

 

 

 

 

Entrepreneurship isn’t easy, neither for men nor women. It’s full of challenges, of ups and downs, of standing right back on your feet as you fall, and trust me you will. Not once, but many times. What makes the journey fantastic is the very spirit of standing back on your feet come what may, is finding the ups through all the downs, is overcoming every challenge that’s thrown your way. PR is such a phenomenal profession if you see it the way I do. There is something new to do every single day – and once you embrace that it (and all the madness that comes with it!) you can never let go it. Every PR professional plays an integral role in influencing opinions, that’s a huge responsibility. Massive.
Be proud of what you do… be very proud.

 

 

 

There is always that one voice in your head that will tell you that you are not ready. Ignore it and do it anyway. You have one life to live…and one life with which to make a change in the industry you love. It serves no one…not even you if you sit back and not challenge the status quo. To create a more equal world add to the conversation across all levels on gender equality however self-serving it may seem. By being in Communication you already are powerful and you have the ear of the powers that be. Leverage that position to create a better and more equal world for yourself, your peers, and all that come after you. Do it every single day.

 

 

 

Media has traditionally been an industry where the number of women working has been much more than in other industries. And yet there has always been a glass ceiling that continues to exist. Mainstream media is led predominantly by men in positions of power as editors and owners. Even when women do own powerful media, I don’t think their gender has impacted a unique voice for the publication. With more independent and social media growing, however, the opportunity lies in many more women being able to float their own platforms where their unique voices can be heard, and where they are in charge and control. The challenge will be the same as for any men who are editors and owners–how to balance business and balance sheets with editorial independence in a cluttered and tricky space.

 

 

 

Disrupt to innovate! We live in wonderful times, where acceptance for change is getting far more easier. Don’t just talk about breaking the glass ceiling, build your own. Everything you have done so far can be challenged, rather will be up for a challenge soon. In the era of purpose-led campaigns and sustainability, ensure you stay authentic. It’s not important to chase the title of a leader, as a mere position, but create options to demonstrate the change. Always, start from ground zero, because that’s one thing Covid taught us – in no time all that u built will vanish. So, stay prepared to share a new story each day.

 

 

 

 

I know failure is possible in anything I do, more so if it’s something new that I am attempting. If I do fail, I learn from it vs it becoming a concern. There is only one finish line. Till then we need to keep going irrespective of our gender.