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Friday 14th March 2025

Mind the gap: why are women missing from senior PR roles?

Women outnumber men in PR – but not at the top. What’s driving the mid-career female talent drain, asks the founder and director of Just Legal Marketing? 

The recently launched Missing Women study delved into why there is a current shortfall of nearly 4,000 women in PR who have either left the industry mid-career or have failed to advance to senior posts in England and Wales. 

The PR sector is female dominated in positions below director level with 66% of roles filled by women. The balance is dramatically tipped in senior posts with women only holding 46% of leadership roles. 

Significant cultural, structural, and societal barriers were found to be blocking women’s career path with unique gender based challenges making it harder for women to progress.  

The industry is losing the benefit of experienced talent as a result of multi-faceted issues: 

  • 63.5% experienced gender based discrimination and/or harassment 

  • 55.8% experienced a lack of equal opportunities for career advancement compared to male colleagues  

  • More than half (53.2%) reported experiencing burnout within an ‘always on’ culture 

  • Nearly half reported limited advancement opportunities (47.2%) 

  • More than a third (33.9%) cited a lack of diversity in leadership 

  • Nearly a third (29.6%) received unequal pay 

Cultural issues 

Gender specific challenges within PR cultures present daily challenges for women hindering confidence and progression.  

Women reported being talked over or being undermined in meetings and in boardrooms with female allies echoing their ideas before they were heard. They witnessed male colleagues being taken more seriously when presenting the same ideas packaged as their own. 

Scrutiny and judgement over physical appearance is a daily microaggression reported by women impacting self-confidence, particularly after having children.  

Women are overlooked for promotion in favour of less experienced male colleagues signalling the need for change. 

Structural barriers 

Gender based pay disparities still exist with women paid less than their male counterparts. Caring responsibilities continue to fall disproportionately on women who shoulder the lion’s share of looking after children and elderly parents however, the industry does not currently adequately recognise nor address this. 

The lack of flexible working, job sharing or part time opportunities leaves women with the impossible choice of career over family – or face burnout. 

The busy demands of an ‘always on’ culture in the sector is incompatible with family responsibilities with women finding creative workarounds including moving into in-house roles, freelancing, or setting up their own business in order to make it work. 

Robust maternity and menopause support is missing with women reporting making career decisions around these key life stages as a result – including leaving the industry altogether. 

Societal challenges 

Women carry the exhausting double shift of trying to juggle a demanding PR career with the lion’s share of family and household responsibilities – with many forced to sacrifice one or the other. 

The significant financial burden of childcare costs versus salary results in difficult career compromises with women shouldering the weight of this issue 

Women face both gender and age discrimination with those aged over 40 reporting increased difficulties in progressing their career. 

The study also worryingly found that women from ethnic minorities, working class backgrounds and neurodiversity faced compound discrimination. 

Call to action 

The findings are a compelling call to action for meaningful industry change to stop the drain of female talent – underpinned by research that shows that there is no significant difference in leadership abilities between the genders. 

The issues are clear. The solutions are not straightforward. However, the sector can only be enriched, enhanced, and empowered by taking the necessary steps to ensure that women can continue to contribute their valuable expertise without compromising their health, wellbeing, or family commitments. 

Read the Missing Women Study

A black and white head shot of Rana Audah whois a white woman with dark hair wearing glasses, she is wearing a top and cardigan

Chartered PR Rana Audah is a Socially Mobile graduate and part of the research team for The Missing Women Study. Rana is a founder and director of Just Legal Marketing offering tactical and strategic support to SME consumer law firms across owned, earned and paid media. 

Further reading 

Advice I would pass onto PR professionals 

Can we bridge the generation gap in PR to unlock workplace potential? 

Surviving and thriving as an over-50s PR