Gender and Cultural Barriers to Leadership Advancement Among Malaysian Public Relations Practitioners: a Comparative Study

Yap, Glenda Yee Tong (2025) Gender and Cultural Barriers to Leadership Advancement Among Malaysian Public Relations Practitioners: a Comparative Study. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

This study examines the gender and cultural barriers that influence leadership advancement among Malaysian public relations (PR) practitioners. While women constitute a significant portion of the PR workforce, they remain underrepresented in senior leadership roles, and Malaysia’s multi-ethnic context introduces additional layers of cultural expectations that shape perceptions of leadership. Guided by Intersectionality Theory, this research explores how gender and cultural identities intersect to create unique challenges in leadership advancement, while also evaluating organisational strategies implemented to address these barriers. A qualitative design was employed using semi-structured interviews with nine PR professionals representing Malay, Chinese, and Indian backgrounds with balanced gender representation. Participants were purposively selected based on their professional experience and exposure to leadership roles, and the data were analysed thematically following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase framework, focusing on five analytic foci: gendered stereotypes, cultural and ethnic influences, organisational supports and constraints, career trajectories, and communication strategies. Findings reveal that gender stereotypes and organisational bias continue to limit women’s progression, often reinforced by cultural values such as power distance and religious expectations, while minority practitioners, particularly non-Malay women, face compounded disadvantages due to cultural misalignments and limited access to informal networks. Although organisations have introduced diversity and inclusion policies, challenges persist in implementation, with tokenism and inconsistent enforcement reducing their effectiveness. The study contributes to scholarship on leadership diversity by contextualising intersectional barriers within Malaysia’s PR industry and offers practical insights for organisations seeking to create more inclusive leadership pipelines, highlighting the need for culturally sensitive policies, mentorship programmes, and accountability mechanisms that move beyond symbolic inclusion toward genuine structural change