The marketing, PR, and creative industries must shake off their Absolutely Fabulous image to attract more men.

That’s the claim of Emma Brierley, chief executive of Xchangeteam, a recruitment company that operates in this female-dominated sector.

Brierley claims that many men are put off working in the sector when they are at university because, ironically, it is not marketing itself properly.

“The whole marketing industry is crying out for more men – and PR is very female-oriented,” she told Recruiter.

“The perception is that it is not commercial as a business career. When people are at university choosing what they are going to do, they see the rewards of working in the city and the established professions.

“[Marketing and PR] seems a bit fluffy – but the reality is not like that and it is so different from the Absolutely Fabulous perception. It is very much a business career and is very challenging.”

Brierley says nine out of 10 graduates she sees wishing to go into PR are women, and three quarters of the people on Xchangeteam’s database are women.

Data from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations claims that 83% of students on PR undergraduate courses are female, rising to 92% of postgraduates.

“Of the people that have applied in the last nine months, 43% were men,” said Claire Owen, managing director of marketing recruiter Stopgap. “But when we look at the people working freelance in marketing, 86% are women.”

Owen says the imbalance was created because women are less likely to compete in the career market and prefer to find their own niche in marketing without taking on extra responsibilities.