Women in PR in Croatia

This 2020 study examines the experiences of women working in Croatia's public relations industry, a female-dominated field (76.84% women) spanning in-house PR, agencies, higher education, civil service and professional associations.

The research set out to document how gender shapes career progression, workplace culture, leadership style and decision-making access for women in Croatian PR, drawing on the perspectives of both non-managerial employees and managers.

Researchers conducted 21 interviews with PR employees (average age 36) and managers (average age 43.5), probing work-life balance, exposure to discrimination, office culture, inclusion in business decisions, and how upbringing shaped self-reported leadership and communication styles.

Twelve of the 21 participants reported being excluded from important business decisions, which the study links to weaker professional networking among women in the industry; participants also described unequal career progression, conflicting behavioural expectations, and informal dress-code norms, while reporting comparatively little overt gender bias in day-to-day office banter and interactions. Leadership style was found to track upbringing, with women raised closer to fathers or "blokish" mothers describing more direct, traditionally "masculine" styles.

The study concludes that despite a female-majority workforce, traditionally masculine norms persist in Croatian PR around career advancement and decision-making access, that queen-bee dynamics reduce recognition of senior women as role models, and that deep-rooted gender stereotypes about "appropriate" traits for each gender remain widespread.