International Women’s Day: There’s still work to do on gender equality in PR and comms

Bringing true equity to every workplace should be an automatic and unquestioned focus for each day and not just International Women’s Day when it rolls around each year. But recognising the occasion is still important, as it provides an opportunity to reflect on how PR and comms is doing on equality, and where it’s still falling short.

CIPR’s PR Population Report, produced in partnership with Chalkstream, found that 66% of PR practitioners below director level are women. This number goes down at the senior level – with only 46% of those in leadership positions identifying as women. The story made for stark reading – careers can stagnate, or stop entirely, when opportunity dries up.

Here are reflections on where PR and communications is on gender equality in 2024, with a hope for more strides forward when we get to IWD 2025.

Gender equality: What’s getting better…

Ronke Lawal, Ariatu Public Relations: ‘There are so many unique and outstanding voices now that go beyond the “old guard” that for me is exciting – I just wish they were all visible.’

Megan Boyle, TAL Agency: ‘I started working in content and PR about nine years ago, and the biggest hurdle then was a lack of client-facing women in meetings. Whenever there was a face-to-face meeting with a big client, it was always the heads of departments who went, which were all men.

‘Since then, the pandemic hit, which I think has really levelled the playing field when it comes to women being able to showcase their strengths and abilities; the world had no choice but to give up face-to-face meetings! With technology facilitating remote working, the floodgates have opened to allow women to step into more senior roles.’

Sophia Iqbal, Roland Dransfield: ‘The younger generation (including myself) are braver than ever. In just a few years I’ve seen women strive for anything they want in their careers because the amount of people telling them they can’t do it has lessened massively.

‘In the agency world, I’ve seen women be supported into senior roles more and more, which gives me hope.’

Sandish Shoker, Tank: ‘The industry is definitely becoming more diverse, however there’s still a way to go. Research from 2020 found that 91% of those working in PR were white – a pretty staggering statistic.

‘Businesses should look to address this wherever possible, as the most successful PR campaigns are often the ones that truly represent the society we live in. For example, the recent Dove advert featuring women of all ethnicities, sizes and heights showcased how brands are now thinking about their marketing.’

Elena Rose Bunbury, Hatch: ‘Networking is a huge factor that has changed the industry for women, specifically LGBTQ+ women also. We’ve learnt to come together regardless of our job titles or the company we work for to share tips, contacts and more. When women build each other up and work together good will always come from it.’

Where there’s still plenty of room for improvement on equity…

Jessica Pardoe, Source PR: ‘There are still a lot of speaker panels that consist only, or around 90% of white men. While I’m not discrediting anyone’s authority to talk, our industry is a pretty diverse one, so it would be great to see that represented more by more BAME and women speakers being given opportunities like these.’

Kelly Gilmour-Grassam, Making You Content: ‘Imposter syndrome! I still struggle with this even after 10 years of running my business and I know I’m not alone. Investment into initiatives that build soft skills, like public speaking and leadership, could go a long way towards helping young women have the confidence to step up in this sector.’

Rebecca Lury, Pagefield: ‘The working culture has become challenging – accounts of sexual harassment in Westminster is putting women off getting involved in politics and public affairs, and the same is true of the media world where stories of journalists to avoid circulate regularly.’

Amanda Kinbrum, Fresh B2B: ‘Unconscious gender biases are still present. On the agency side, we need more data transparency around female leadership representation and pay equity. The disproportionate number of males in leadership teams on the clients we service indicates there is still an uphill climb in achieving influence for women.

‘I also encounter subtle biases, like surprise that a woman in marketing holds an engineering degree. We also once had a client who would only give eye contact and address my male business partner – despite me being the MD and decision maker! We have to work much harder to prove our expertise and abilities.’

Mel Stark, Stark Comms: ‘There is still a lack of senior-level female mentors and role models to offer guidance to women rising through the ranks. Women must push back against stereotypes that relegate them to only junior support functions versus strategy and management opportunities. Many women struggle to maintain confidence and learn to self-advocate for raises and promotions.

‘While progress is being made, women must continue supporting each other, speaking up, and leveraging their talents to shape an industry that better fosters their success.’

For more from our these PR experts, check out their advice to women starting their career in PR and communications here.