We’re launching the Missing Women study today to understand the barriers to women's progression to senior roles. The survey explores women's experiences in UK public relations practice, including those currently working, those considering leaving, and those who have left the field.
The responses will help us understand the challenges and opportunities for women in public relations roles, particularly mid-career. They will inform further qualitative research and form the basis of a research paper to be published by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and Socially Mobile to be published in Spring 2025.
This isn’t a female problem. It’s an industry problem. The data speaks for itself.
👉 Two-thirds of practitioners working in England and Wales below director-level are female and 34% are male
👉 The situation is almost completely reversed in senior roles, where 54% of practitioners are male and 46% are female
It’s an intersectional issue that is compounded by socioeconomic and diversity factors.
We’ve recruited a research team of Socially Mobile graduates with lived experience of inequality within public relations practice to explore the issue and identify interventions.
The research team consists of Rana Audah Chart. PR, Josie Shepherd and Isobel Wilson-Cleary, led by myself. The project is being managed by Sarah Waddington CBE CDir ChartPR and supervised by Ben Verinder.
If you’re a woman working in public relations in the UK, we would welcome your perspective. The survey will take 10 to 15 minutes to complete and remain open until 30 September 2024.
The Socially Mobile website's news section includes a full write-up of the project and methodology.
