Celebrating Women’s History Month with 6 PR Women to Know

It’s Women’s History Month and we’re celebrating by sharing our picks for the most influential women in public relations. These are the women who paved the way, the women who are crushing it now, and those who will continue to inspire us going forward. Learn more about these PR women to know.

PR Women Then

1. Muriel Fox

Not only was she the co-founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), she was also the first woman to join a major agency (Carl Byoir & Associates) as a professional. Describing her experience there she stated, “When I was interviewed at Carl Byoir in 1950, they said sorry, but they don’t hire women except as secretaries, so I went away and took another job. But then I was hired in the radio and television department by a very enlightened man, Bob Davis.

Then a couple of years later, when Bob became the head of all the departments, to everyone’s surprise, I got the job as head of my department even though there was a man making much more money in the department, and I remember the CEO said to me at that time, ‘Well Muriel, you’ve come far, we’ll see if you’ve come too far.’ I remember when I became a vice president in 1957, the CEO said, ‘Well, you’ve come far, but you’ve come as far as you can go because CEOs can’t relate to a woman.’ And it took NOW (National Organization of Women) in 1966 to make it the law that you couldn’t discriminate.”

2. Barbara Hunter

The first woman to buy a major agency (Dudley Anderson Yutzy) in 1967. In 1989 Barbara founded Hunter PR, which she headed until 2000. She was also one of the first in the industry to push for equal pay stating, “When my sister and I took over management of the firm (that they had purchased), we were left with a whole lot of empty real estate because the guys had left. When we looked into the records of the firm, we found that the men were being paid much more than the women in the same positions. So, the very first thing we did was to equalize the pay of the few men we had left with the women. That was very important to us.”

PR Women Now

1. Andy Coville, CEO, Brodeur Partners

She is a 2021 Winner for Changemaker in PRNEWS’ “Top Women in PR” who, during the pandemic, led the creation of BWell, a wellness program focusing on the physical and mental health of employees. Under her leadership, Brodeur also started a Diversity & Inclusion practice, and she started a consulting practice focusing on leadership for women. She oversees Brodeur’s strategic direction, has run Brodeur’s healthcare practice since its inception, and developed Brodeur’s Relevance Methodology which combines behavioral science and digital communications for brand transformation. Coville has also led the creative planning process for three global movements: cancer, hepatitis C, and entrepreneurship.

2. Michelle Olson, PRSA Chair, Managing Partner, Lambert & Co.

A 2021 Winner for Industry Innovators on PRNEWS’ “Top Women in PR” list, she drives the execution of PRSA’s strategic plan with its CEO and is the spokesperson for the organization and its Board of Directors. Olson now leads PRSA’s Voices4Everyone information and resource platform which is designed to help communication professionals address misinformation and disinformation, diversity and inclusion, civility, and civic engagement. She also leads the automotive and mobility practice at Lambert & Co.

PR Women Going Forward

1. Sarah Zets, Account Executive, Poston Communications

This PRNEWS “Top Women in PR” 2021 Winner for Rising Stars started her career with Poston Communications by successfully completing the Precision Curriculum internship program. As the youngest member of the Crisis Management and Litigation Communications team, she was communications counsel to the litigation team in a landmark civil rights and workplace discrimination case before the United States Supreme Court. Zets is also a member of the Young Professionals Board and Marketing Committee for HOPE Atlanta, an organization dedicated to ending homelessness.

2. Jenny Wang, VP, Clyde Group

Another PRNEWS 2021 Winner for Rising Stars, Wang has been a vocal advocate for DEI within the public relations industry pushing for greater representation of people from underrepresented communities and has championed diversity in the workplace. She leads the Clyde Group’s largest account and amplifies its voice on health equity and DEI efforts. In addition, she guides two internal employee resource groups, the Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accountability Group (IDEA) and Clyde Visibility which works to recruit and retain people of color.

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by R Public Relations Firm