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| Untersuchte Arbeit: Seite: 298, Zeilen: 1-22 |
Quelle: Serini Toth Wright Emig 1998 Seite(n): 214, 215, Zeilen: 214: 15-20, 38ff; 215: 1-4, 15ff |
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| As long as sexual harassment is implicitly or explicitly tolerated in an organization, women will be marginalized in every stratum. Not only does this lead to ineffectiveness and upset in organizational functioning, it directly impacts the public relations position and role in an organization. This in turn, will continue to affect not only the organization’s policies, culture, and relation to stakeholders, including employees, but also the field of public relations.
Furthermore, sexual harassment particularly jeopardizes public practitioners as they increasingly prepare for and move into positions in the dominant coalition. Because women are increasingly moving into managerial roles (Toth et al., 1997), the impact of the field of public relations has the potential to be disastrous: If sexual harassment is used to continue to control women in the organization, then women who do rise to managerial positions, who do sit with the dominant coalition, will be powerless. They will continue to be ignored because they will be little more than tokens. As sex objects, they will lack the ability to speak with credibility in the negotiations that shape the organization. That will reflect, ultimately, on the perception of the public relations in general and will continue to erode the role and level at which the practitioner – male or female – functions. That change must come from a fundamental shift in social, cultural, and organizational structures. That is why Hon’s (1995) suggestion that legislation outlawing sexual harassment may not be effective in the long run. Legislation could serve the important purpose of creating awareness, but it could also give the culture yet another legitimization for marginalizing women as companies may be too afraid to hire women (McCarthy, 1993). Hon, L. (1995). Toward a feminist theory of public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 7, 27-88. McCarthy, S. J. (1993). Cultural fascism. In R. Brown (Ed.), Women’s issues: The reference shelf (Vol. 65, pp. 59-61). New York: Wilson. Toth, E., Serini, S., Wright, D., & Emig, A. (1997, May). Trends in public relations roles: 1990-1995. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Communication Association. Montreal, Canada. |
[page 214]
As long as sexual harassment is implicitly or explicitly tolerated in an organization, women will be marginalized in every stratum. Not only does this lead to ineffectiveness and upset in organizational functioning, it directly impacts the public relations position and role in an organization. This, in turn, will continue to affect not only the organization's policies, culture, and relation to stakeholders (including employees) but also the field of public relations. [...] That is why Hon's (1995) suggestion that legislation outlawing sexual harassment is only a bandage at best. As can be seen in both the men's and women's discussions, legislation has served the important purpose of creating awareness, but It has also given the culture yet another legitimization for marginalizing women: It is too scary to hire a woman because we might be sued if someone steps out of line. [page 215] It is too scary to incorporate women into our informal socialization opportunities because we might be sued. And so forth. The women have assimilated the "too scary" mantra: They are afraid to hire women (McCarthy, 1993), and they are more timid about social situations that might put them in jeopardy. [...] Sexual harassment particularly jeopardizes public relations practitioners as they increasingly prepare for and move into positions in the dominant coalition. Because 90% of the incidents of sexual harassment are, at this point in history, reported by women, and because women are increasingly moving into managerial roles (Toth et al., 1997), the impact on the field of public relations has the potential to be disastrous: If sexual harassment is used to continue to control women in the organization, then women who do rise to managerial positions, who do sit with the dominant coalition, will be powerless. They will continue to be ignored because they will be little more than tokens. As sex objects, they will lack the ability to speak with credibility in the negotiations that shape the organization. That will reflect, ultimately, on the perception of public relations practitioners in general and will continue to erode the role and level at which the practitioner—male or female—functions. As more women climb to the top, their voices—not their bodies—are what must be present. That change must come from a fundamental shift in social, cultural, and organizational structures. Hon, L. (1995). Toward a feminist theory of public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 7, 27-88. McCarthy, S. J. (1993). Cultural fascism. In R. Brown (Ed.), Women's issues: The reference shelf (Vol. 65, pp. 59-61). New York: Wilson. Toth, E,, Serini, S., Wright, D., & Emig, A. (1997, May). Trends in public relations roles: 1990-1995. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Communication Association. Montreal, Canada. |
The true source is not given. |
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