CSUN’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is run by Co-Presidents Emma Galloway and Ruby Durant, advisors Stacy Long and Linda Bowen and the executive board that purely consists of women.

But while women dominate the public relations field in numbers, the industry tells a different story at the top. According to a study done by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in 2019, approximately 75% of public relations practitioners were female, yet women in public relations only comprised 20% of senior-level positions. Women held around 59% of public relations management roles and 63% of public specialist positions, but women continue to be underrepresented in the highest levels of leadership within PR firms and corporate departments today.

“Glass ceiling will always be there, but corporations should support a woman. They should support someone who is nonbinary. They should support someone who’s Black, white, whatever,” said Galloway. “Because in the end, we’re trying to experience those things that a white male CEO is trying to experience. It’s just so empowering to have a woman, so higher up and that’s just so inspiring to see.”

Durant agreed that public relations is a female-dominated industry but pointed out that in other industries such as sports PR, leadership is predominantly male-dominated. “You’re not always going into a female-dominant industry,” said Durant. “I think all we would want is for it to just be more equal because we’re not fighting to be better than the other sex.”

PRSSA allows students to network, build connections and grow their portfolios, gaining opportunities. After graduating, Durant will serve as a summer publicity intern at Interscope Records, which is owned under Universal Music Group. She found the opportunity through a PRSSA meeting on campus, after a guest speaker mentioned an opening and encouraged students to apply.

Durant said that almost everything she has on her portfolio was gained through working in PRSSA, helping coordinate events and growing the club’s platform on social media as the social media manager.

The co-presidents were able to gain hands-on experience in event coordinating and outreach as 80 aspiring public relations student professionals filled a room in the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Los Angeles, California, where CSUN PRSSA helped host the ‘Pitch Perfect’ panel workshop of the PRSA Western District Conference on Monday, Feb. 24. This marked the second year that the club contributed to hosting the event, which was previously held at CSUN in 2024.

Durant and Galloway moderated panels with industry professionals, which included Kerjon Lee from Los Angeles County Public Works, Tahni Justice, a CSUN alumnus, who serves as the Corporate Communications Manager at Live Nation Entertainment, Erin Glover from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Sr. Director of Consumer Public Relations Melissa England from the Wonderful Company.

Scott Pansky, co-founder of Allison Worldwide, serves on the PRSA board and is a liaison who has been working for the last two years to develop programs, such as educational programming that help chapters of PRSSA, including CSUN’s.

In addition to professional development, the conference held a deeper meaning for those involved. Pansky, who had worked closely with CSUN for two years to develop such programs/conferences, emphasized the significance of student growth.

The co-presidents said that while club meetings provide valuable insight, events like mixers and conferences offer real-world experiences that the classroom can’t — allowing students to network with professionals, practice communication in a professional setting and connect with other PRSSA members from around the country.

“I love seeing students grow,” Pansky said. The highlight of the conference for him was hearing from students who initially felt nervous but later gained the confidence to approach professionals, thanks to his encouragement. They expressed feeling less alone and more empowered to engage in interviews and conversations.

In a workshop, Pansky retaught the concept of social skills by reminiscing about the feeling of being a child and playing with other children in a sandbox. Just as children use the sandbox to experiment, share ideas and make friendships, adults must do the same in their careers—sharing knowledge, experiences, resources and networking.

Pansky praises CSUN PRSSA advisors, Long and Bowen, for their contributions and their devotion to the students. “Those women have been with us all two years, and to be the support for the students when they needed something, you know, between myself and the two of them. And I know the two of them probably did a lot more work than what I know about,” said Pansky.

When asked about advice Galloway plans to take with her she said: “I have one that I feel like it’s brought me to life, in my opinion and it’s to an extent, ‘be comfortable with the uncomfortable’ because you never know what’s going to happen in your life and what different avenues you’re going to go through.”

In April 2023, Galloway was extended an invitation by Bowen with an opportunity to attend the ‘National Millennial and Gen Z Community’ event in Cleveland, Ohio. This was her first time flying alone and to a different state. “If I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t be the person I am today, to be so real,” Galloway said. “I’m not even trying to be cheesy with that because I feel like I was fighting so much anxiety with that. Like just going with it instead made it feel so much better and I really gained confidence from that.”

Attendance at club meetings has grown from an average of about 14 members last year to around 25 this year, with a peak of 37.

“I hope that the Executive Board after us, continue just pushing that forward and letting people know that it’s an open space. It’s an open club, it’s totally for everybody because everybody needs PR at the end of the day and it’s just a great organization,” Durant said. “It’s also made me feel so confident in myself and what I’m going to do after college. I think without PRSSA, I wouldn’t really have any connections or any opportunities or openings.”

Durant reflected on the transition period from student leadership to entering the workforce, noting that it can be a mental adjustment. After serving as co-president of PRSSA and being surrounded by familiar faces, stepping into a professional environment means starting from the bottom. Durant explained how you’re going to get critiqued and receive feedback and while that can be challenging, she emphasized the importance of not taking “things too personally.”

“We have all been so supportive of each other, no matter what! And I’ve talked about this with Ruby so many times, just like how blessed we are to have a great group of women in our executive board who want to see people strive,” Galloway said. “We bring that great energy back to our members and our members feel like it can be an inclusive space for people and that’s what I want to continue is just having that safe space for people to help themselves, professionally and personally.”