August 26, 2020

It’s Women’s Equality Day (Aug. 26, 2020)! One-hundred years ago, women earned the right to vote in the U.S., by taking charge, stating their case, taking to the streets over decades, and pushing for the accountability of the vote.

As ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — giving women the right to vote — celebrates 100 years and included a significant role for East Tennessee (with one determined mother of a young Tennessee legislator), Kelly and Mary Beth mark the significance of Fletcher Marketing PR’s East Tennessee roots, its focus on lending voice to the power of women, and just how much women still confront in seeking equality, 100 years later … including in the Public Relations industry, which is female-dominated.

• How — 100 years later (in the year of COVID-19) — women’s rights in the voting booth have evolved to rights in the workplace, albeit with shortfalls in rights of equal pay for equal work
• What the implications of COVID-19 have been, particularly in the PR industry, given disproportionate numbers of women in this workforce
• How women dominating the PR industry have not translated into power in the executive or decision-making levels
• Misogyny and male-dominated culture issues in the communications industry … including particular sub-sectors (like ad agency “bro” cultures) that result in qualified and talented women being held back, passed over, dismissed, marginalized and otherwise treated in ways that create exit-ramps from career pathways
• Key statistics reflective of inequities
• Anecdotal examples of male cultures that demonize women and gaslight legitimate concerns or calls for accountability
• Why women must push cultures of accountability — not only for their own benefit or self-protection, but also for the industries they predominantly work within, such as public relations, to prove value and earn respect