Friendliness trap

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Romy Fröhlich's “Theory of the Friendliness Trap ” is an attempt to explain a peculiarity of the gender-specific labor market segmentation especially in the field of public relations , namely its above-average degree of feminization while simultaneously unrealized equal opportunities for women and men in this field .

starting point

A feminization trend in public relations can now be observed in all western industrial nations . In public relations training, the proportion of women is even 80%. Since there are so far no scientifically proven findings for the cause of the empirically proven feminization of PR , various speculative attempts at explanation exist. These can be divided into (1) attempts based on structural theory (e.g. structural peculiarities of the PR labor market such as `` agency segment '' vs. `` company segment '') and (2) based on actor theory, the latter being differentiated according to (2.1.) Psychological ones Explanatory approaches and those that argue on the basis of the so-called (2.2.) Human capital theory .

The “friendliness trap” argues in terms of actor theory and explains the strong feminization in the PR professional field with the different psychological characteristics of male and female professional actors. Here it is assumed that communication is a specific (socialization and / or biological) strength of women that makes them appear particularly suitable, not to say particularly 'qualified', for public relations . It is assumed that women have the ideal prerequisites for the communicative challenges of the PR profession, which are based on consensus, dialogue and negotiation - prerequisites, it is assumed, that cannot be easily learned. In this context, z. B. the American communication scientist Linda Aldoory her "feminist model of leadership". Grunig, Toth and Hon describe the female input in the PR field ("feminist values ​​that have implications for public relations practice (...) a practice that is truly professional, truly ethical, and truly effective.") As a "revolution of the heart." “And interpret specific psychological characteristics of women as female expertise and superiority in the PR professional field.

The constructed causal chain is simple: Because PR communication tasks are almost by definition geared towards dialogue, mutual understanding, balance, exchange and conflict management, and because women seem particularly suitable for these specific communication tasks due to their supposedly 'natural' qualifications, they are There is also greater demand for the labor market. Conversely, women are increasingly discovering PR as an interesting professional field because of their own awareness of these 'special' abilities ascribed to them from childhood on.

Nevertheless, women do not have the same opportunities as men in the PR professional field. Rather, occupational and training statistics show that the proportion of women falls again with increasing length of employment. The differences in the hierarchical and status positions of men and women also become more apparent the longer they work. Accordingly, the usual gender-specific labor market segmentation also prevails in PR.

Basic assumptions of the "friendliness trap"

Fröhlich argues that the better communication skills of women are primarily the result of their gender-specific socialization: in the course of their socialization, women, in contrast to men, primarily learn so-called “consiliatory gestures” –– Fröhlich et al. speak of "appeasement gestures" - which is due to their lower status position in almost all cultures. Your individual interaction and communication behavior is largely adapted to this status. According to Fröhlich , according to Alfermann, women are actually more likely than men to have such communication skills that give them an advantage when entering the PR profession, but can then prove to be more of a hindrance to staying and advancing in the PR profession. Because it is possible that these skills are recoded to a disadvantage, namely when the 'soft' communication style of women, for which they are actually praised, is interpreted in competitive situations relevant to promotion as a lack of assertiveness and conflict ability or as poorly trained leadership skills - an effect Den Fröhlich describes it as a 'friendliness trap': The women concerned must and can meet the (gender-specific) expectations initially placed on them without any problems, not least because these expectations also correspond to their own and with their own, individual ideas of the requirements of the PR professional field is congruent. However, they then rely for too long on the fact that it is precisely their gender-specific communication skills that ensure their advancement in PR. The 'trap' snaps shut without the affected women even noticing.

In Fröhlich et al. it says:

"Above all, it is the 'friendly' arguments about the special aptitude of women for PR that literally 'captivate' us, because the widespread thesis of special communicative female talent appears in the PR professional field as a new role corset, that comes across in a positive guise, but makes flexibility in action and situation-dependent behavior just as difficult as older, less 'friendly' stereotypes. This new role corset also sanctions deviant behavior and thus proves itself for women who care about it - also for professional reasons! - cannot or do not want to do justice as a career killer. The 'friendly' stereotype of the special communicative talent also acts as a brake on innovation, because it cements social and professional role expectations and makes changes in women's self-concept more difficult. This is one of the reasons why the thesis of the special communicative talent of women in the PR professional field appears to be a 'friendliness trap'. "

reception

The theory has already established itself in science and is cited many times. In international literature, the theory is received under the friendliness trap .

literature

  • L. Aldoory: The language of leadership for female public relations professionals. In: Journal of Public Relations Research. 10, 1998, pp. 73-101.
  • D. Alferman: Gender Roles and Gender Behavior. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne 1996.
  • LA Grunig, EL Toth, L. Childers Hon: Feminist Values ​​in Public Relations. In: Journal of Public Relations Research. 12, 2000, pp. 49-68. doi : 10.1207 / S1532754XJPRR1201_4
  • R. Fröhlich, S. Peters, E.-M. Simmelbauer: Public Relations. Data and facts from gender-specific occupational research. Oldenbourg, Munich / Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-486-57857-X .
  • LA Rudman: Self-promotion as a risk factor for women: The costs and benefits of counterstereotypical impression management. In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 74, 1998, pp. 629-645.
  • BJ Wrigley: Feminist scholarship and its contributions to public relations. In: RL Heath (Ed.): The SAGE Handbook of Public Relations. Sage, Thousands Oaks, CA 2010, ISBN 978-1-4129-7780-7 , pp. 247-260.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ R. Fröhlich: The feminization of PR. In: R. Fröhlich , P. Szyszka, G. Bentele (eds.): Handbuch der Public Relations. Scientific foundations and professional activities. With lexicon. 3rd, new and completely revised edition. VS Verlag, Wiesbaden 2015.
  2. ↑ Where the lady killer strikes. In: Spiegel online. July 20, 2005, accessed May 1, 2016.
  3. ↑ L. Aldoory: The language of leadership for female public relations professionals. In: Journal of Public Relations Research ,. 10, 1998, pp. 73-101.
  4. ↑ LA Grunig, EL Toth, L. Childers Hon: Feminist Values ​​in Public Relations. In: Journal of Public Relations Research. 12, 1, 2000, p. 63. doi : 10.1207 / S1532754XJPRR1201_4
  5. ↑ For Germany cf. R. Fröhlich, S. Peters, E.-M. Simmelbauer: Public Relations. Data and facts from gender-specific occupational research. Oldenbourg, Munich / Vienna 2005; for USA cf. BJ Wrigley (2010). Feminist scholarship and its contributions to public relations. In: RL Heath (Ed.): The SAGE Handbook of Public Relations. Sage, Thousands Oaks, CA 2010, pp. 247-60.
  6. ↑ R. Fröhlich, S. Peters, E.-M. Simmelbauer: Public Relations. Data and facts from gender-specific occupational research. Oldenbourg, Munich / Vienna 2005.
  7. ↑ D. Alferman: Gender roles and gender-specific behavior. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne 1996.
  8. ↑ R. Fröhlich, S. Peters, E.-M. Simmelbauer: Public Relations. Data and facts from gender-specific occupational research. Oldenbourg, Munich / Vienna 2005.
  9. ↑ PR girls in the friendliness trap. on the website of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, May 10, 2010, accessed on May 1, 2016.
  10. ↑ z. B. Strategies of so-called "Counterstereotypical Impression Management" by women, LA Rudman: Self-promotion as a risk factor for women: The costs and benefits of counterstereotypical impression management. In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 74, 1998, pp. 629-645.
  11. ↑ R. Fröhlich, S. Peters, E.-M. Simmelbauer: Public Relations. Data and facts from gender-specific occupational research. Oldenbourg, Munich / Vienna 2005, p. 157.
  12. ↑ K. Hassenstein: Professional success in the PR industry. Expressiveness, instrumentalist, motivation. VS Verlag, Wiesbaden 2016, ISBN 978-3-658-11653-8 .
  13. ↑ C. Kreileder: The relevance of communication science for public relations practitioners. LIT Verlag, Berlin 2014.
  14. ↑ S. Lorenz: Gender aspects in the double advisory triangle of external PR services. In: U. Röttger, S. Zielmann (Ed.): PR-Beratung. Theoretical concepts and empirical findings. 2009, pp. 197-212.
  15. ↑ communication-director.com
  16. ↑ M. Hardin, E. Whiteside: Consequences of being the "Team Mom": women in sports information and the friendliness trap. In: Journal of Sport Management. Vol. 26, No. 4, 2012, pp. 309-321. cabdirect.org
  17. ↑ iiav.nl