Why Women Earn Less Than Men: The Cost of Gender Discrimination in U.S. Public Relations

This study provides a comprehensive theoretical model to account for the persistent pay inequity between men and women in public relations. Surveying a random sample of public relations professionals, we shed light on the various factors giving rise to gendered pay disparity, including gender, professional experience, career specialization, manager role enactment, and participation in management decision-making. We found that pay inequity exists between male and female practitioners because of their gender, after controlling for all the other identified influencers. Also, gender leads to gendered salary differences through professional experience, manager role enactment, participation in decision-making, and career specialization.