After pointing out the problems women face as they try to enter the ranks of corporate management (popular issues for discussion in the business press), this paper argues for better career planning for women in public relations. The paper considers the model of the structured retail career path which has contributed to the rise of women to executive retail positions, and discusses how the field of public relations can learn from the retail occupations and their experiences with feminization. The topic is explored in the paper through a review of textbooks, articles, and industry association publications. The paper concludes that women in public relations rarely have a structured career path to follow and suggests that women in public relations should actively seek their employers' career guidelines and determine whether public relations is considered to be part of the "path to the top." (Four diagrams are included, and 44 references are appended.) (Author/MS)