Alexis Allen and Dr. Shane Reese, Statistics

Women have made vast advancements in the workplace within the last thirty years, but gender career issues still exist today. The field of communications presents an interesting case study about discrepancies between male and female employees’ contrasting earnings and career roles. A phenomenon called the Glass Ceiling Effect exists in the public relations field, for example. Essentially, the Glass Ceiling Effect says that although there are more women practitioners in the field, male practitioners attain management positions more frequently and earn higher salaries than their female counterparts.

Although many studies have been conducted about the gender views of communications professionals in career environments, relatively few have examined communications students’ attitudes concerning gender issues.1 The communications students of today are the communications professionals of tomorrow. Consequently, assessment of students’ gender attitudes pertaining to their careers affords a valuable preview of gender issues in the future’s communications industry.

Brigham Young University provides an especially unique setting for such a study. Due to their predominantly LDS cultural and religious background, BYU students place great importance on the significance of gender. They respect the role of women as mothers and typically see families as the building block of society.

This study identifies to what extent a Glass Ceiling Effect exists among the communications students at BYU. It sheds light on both male and female communications students’ plans for the future as well as their desired roles in their careers. In addition, the study delineates the degree of contrast between male and female communications students’ views on gender issues in relation to their chosen majors.

A 3-page survey, based on the instrument used in Farmer’s 1997 study, “Gender Differences in Public Relations Students’ Career Attitudes: A Benchmark Study,” was distributed to communications students in capstone classes (Comms 420, 425, 485, 489, 483).

The Chi-Square test was used to analyze the data because the data was categorical in nature. The respondents were taken from a single sample, and each individual was classified according to gender and their response to each specific question. This type of analysis was appropriate because it accomplished the study’s purpose of comparing several proportions between two populations. The null hypothesis “Ho: Equal Proportions of Successes” between the populations of male and female communications students was applied to each survey question at a significance level of á = 0.05. “Ha: Unequal Proportions of Successes” between the populations of male and female communications students was the alternative hypothesis.

In most statistical studies of this nature, the general failure to reject the null hypothesis would not say very much; it would simply mean that there is no change, no difference, not much to report. However, the findings that there were no statistical significances between male and female communications students’ gender views, plans or expectations in the context of their career goals in virtually all of this study’s examination speaks volumes about the communications department at BYU. This is readily apparent after comparing these BYU-specific results with those of previous research on a national level. In the study upon which this one was based, Farmer’s “Gender Differences in Public Relations Students’ Career Attitudes: A Benchmark Study,” statistically significant differences were found between a majority of male and female public relations students’ responses to the same questions used in this study. Farmer concluded that female public relations students need to know their worth and be prepared to pursue firm career goals according to their clear understanding of their capabilities. In effect, Farmer’s study said that while male and female professionals have achieved some degree of equality, there is still work to be done.

Male and female BYU communications students at BYU, on the other hand, have statistically similar career outlooks and goals. Gender does not influence salary expectations, promotion plans, or even role enactment preferences. This equality of opinion is especially commendable for the BYU student population because of its foundation in LDS principles and culture, with its unique respect for the distinction between genders and its emphasis on the importance of traditional family structures. Even with this distinctive perspective, which many people say diminishes female students and contributes to a male-dominated subculture, there is no statistically significant difference between male and female students’ gender views. A realization of gender’s importance does not equate to diminished expectations of female BYU communications students.

Although there were slight differences in male and female students’ views, none of them were large enough to be statistically significant.

However, there is still room for improvement if the BYU communications department aims to place its male and female students on equal footing in preparation for their entrance into the workplace. There was a marked, statistically significant difference in male and female students’ promotion and management attitudes. This could be due to the fact that a larger proportion of female students simply did not desire management positions; it could have nothing to do with their self-perceived ability levels. But females need to continue to set high goals and negotiate salaries equitable with their ability levels, just as their male counterparts. The communications department could implement a reinforced education program about promotion and salary negotiation skills in an effort to decrease the difference between male and female students’ attitudes.