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August 10, 2026: Stories & Strategies Podcast: Two Thirds of the Room but Almost NONE of the Corner Offices
The public relations is now a profession with more women than men – yet the number of women in leadership positions lag. In this episode, Colleen Killingsworth and Professor Amy Thurlow (Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, NS) unpack that paradox and share insights from their research behind their book Rethinking the Table: Women Leaders in Public Relations in Canada.
Drawing on data, lived experience, and an intersectional lens, they explore some of the barriers: informal networks, credibility gaps, "emotional" labor, and the subtle norms that shape who advances and who gets overlooked. They also highlight the traits and strategies of women who are thriving – and what organizations, allies, and leaders can do to redesign the systems that determine access to power.
The conversation spans Canada–U.S. comparisons, structural versus cultural challenges, and practical moves that can improve outcomes for women in PR leadership. A timely, candid, and essential discussion for communicators, executives, and anyone committed to building workplaces where leadership is recognized and rewarded.
March 24, 2026: The Crux Podcast #164: Rethinking the Table – Colleen Killingsworth & Amy Thurlow on Women's Leadership in PR
The public relations is now a profession with more women than men – yet the number of women in leadership positions lag. In this episode, Colleen Killingsworth and Professor Amy Thurlow (Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, NS) unpack that paradox and share insights from their research behind their book Rethinking the Table: Women Leaders in Public Relations in Canada.
Drawing on data, lived experience, and an intersectional lens, they explore some of the barriers: informal networks, credibility gaps, "emotional" labor, and the subtle norms that shape who advances and who gets overlooked. They also highlight the traits and strategies of women who are thriving – and what organizations, allies, and leaders can do to redesign the systems that determine access to power.
The conversation spans Canada–U.S. comparisons, structural versus cultural challenges, and practical moves that can improve outcomes for women in PR leadership. A timely, candid, and essential discussion for communicators, executives, and anyone committed to building workplaces where leadership is recognized and rewarded.
May 29, 2025 — Book Launch at CPRS National Conference
Rethinking the Table was launched at the Canadian Public Relations Society conference in Banff, where the authors received the 2025 CPRS Thought Leader of the Year Award.
Amy Thurlow, PH.D., APR, FCPRS (L) Colleen Killingsworth, MCM, APR, FCPRS
co-authored Rethinking the Table: Women Leaders in Public Relations in
Canada with contributions by Nicolle Wahl, MCM (R)
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Endorsements
Colleen, Amy and Nicolle provide undeniable data that helps us understand the experience of Canadian women in PR leadership, blending the lived experience of professionals across the country to provide nuance and context to the research findings, presenting a compelling call for change.
Only by examining the true extent of the inequities and the barriers that limit our success, can we drive a national conversation on how we all, collectively, do better.
I have no doubt that the three women who have shined a much-needed light on this issue, will accept no less.
— Kim Blanchette, APR, FCPRS
The partnership between these three brilliant researchers, scholars, and practitioners has produced this critically important and valuable study. Now that this Canadian evidence confirms the research findings from pioneering scholars such as Elizabeth Toth and Lauri (Larissa) Grunig, it is left to all of us to correct the imbalances that the authors clearly identify in this book. This book must become required reading for all future public relations students, and even current practitioners, if we hope to make this profession more equitable and inclusive in Canada.
— Dr. Terence Flynn, APR, FCPRS