Doris, the Barbie Public Relations?
Posted on Aug. 8, 2023 / History / Subscribe 0
In the summer of 1914, nearly 1,500 women walked across New York City in a silent march in response to World War I in what became known as the first Women’s Peace Parade. Amongst the protesters was the young Jewish-American journalist Doris Fleishman. The Barnard College graduate and writer for the women's page at the New York Tribune went on to become the paper’s assistant Sunday editor while participating in demonstrations with the Women’s Suffrage Movement. But her career changed in 1917 when she was hired as a staff writer at Edward Bernays, Counsel on Public Relations. That name might sound familiar and by now the reader knows where this is headed. Bernays is one of the founding fathers of public relations. I learned about Doris Fleishman, the unsung hero of PR, while I studied for the Accreditation in Public Relations and thought about her as I walked out of the theater with my 10-year-old daughter after watching Barbie.
In Edward Bernays’ firm, the two worked together on campaigns to promote enterprises, political candidates, and government agencies that shaped the opinions, attitudes, and behaviors of the first half of the 20th century. After the two married in 1922, she became an equal partner in the firm and went on to continue her journey as a trailblazer in women’s rights and public relations. Fleishman made headlines several times in her life, including being the first married woman to sign into a hotel and the first to obtain a passport under her maiden name.
On the flip side, she endured relentless workplace discrimination throughout her career. She was the insightful public relations professional behind many of the firm’s most successful campaigns, but Edward Bernays had to deliver the insights to clients, who obviously would not take public relations counsel from a woman. It is not surprising that, in 1952, when Fleischman began searching for publishers to print a book detailing the struggles women faced in domestic and professional settings, she was rejected by multiple publishers for two years.
Over a century stands between Doris’ debut in the new field of public relations and Greta Gerwin’s movie about the stereotypical Mattel doll. As I watched Barbie, like many spectators, I was moved by the powerful monologue delivered by actress America Ferrera when her character Gloria addresses the Barbies near the end of the movie. "It is literally impossible to be a woman,” she starts and goes on to say, “You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. (...) You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people (...).” Doris would have nodded.
Despite outstanding strides, many professionals still face discrimination and pay discrepancies based on gender, identity, race, sexual orientation, faith, and age. Oftentimes, these keep talented professionals from growing to their full potential, getting compensated on equal terms to their peers, and having a voice. For immigrants, people of color, women and LGBTQ+ individuals, reality still isn’t bright pink around the world. And since we are all multidimensional, men across professions claim that they too suffer discrimination. As Barbie points out, the answer is neither at Barbieland nor at Kendom.
As we work toward greater equality, the single most effective way for all genders to overcome career obstacles is still to demonstrate professional knowledge. In PR, it is essential, like both Doris Fleishman and Edward Bernays, to stand confident and deliver the strategic advice clients and organizations seek. As the Chair of Accreditation in Public Relations for the Phoenix chapter of Public Relations Society of America, I often hear recently accredited professionals share how much the APR has helped them gain the KPIs necessary to grow and stand out in their careers. From learning new strategic planning skills to discovering the implications of ethics in PR to understanding how to navigate crisis communications to developing management skills, the APR process offers candidates both the body of public relations knowledge and the comprehensive toolbox to become that trusted counsel for public, private, and non-profit organizations.
The profession is not Barbieland; we haven’t surmounted challenges for all genders worldwide, but we must continue to walk on the road paved by both famous and anonymous PR professionals to close the gaps and elevate each other with the most powerful tool our profession has to offer - accreditation. I invite you to seek the knowledge and confidence your profession requires by working to become an Accredited Public Relations professional and contact me to begin your journey.
Top image courtesy of PRSA-Fort Worth
By Marcia Paterman Brookey, Chair of APR
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