PR: An industry dominated by women but still being led by men?

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The public relations (PR) industry in India is dynamic and continues to grow at a double-digit rate in 2022. It is also a field where we see a majority of women unlike other industries. This is contributed to the fact that women have a multifaceted skillset and can multitask. So, they are good at attention to detail, getting on with people, being creative, and being curious. All skills needed for a successful PR career.

In addition to that, women are active listeners too. They are often more in tune with their clients’ needs, more empathetic, and more able to understand the challenges faced by the clients. So, they are all the more able to collaborate effectively and creatively.

However, according to The Holmes Report, women make up about 70% of the PR workforce, but they only hold about 30% of the top positions in the industry. The Centre’s 2017 Leadership Report Card found that being successful in the field is still challenging for women—the pay gap is real; the opportunity gap is real; and the being-heard-and-respected-gap is real.

Moreover, it is commonly known that men predominately hold CEO positions at the biggest PR firms, with some estimates reaching over 80%. This highlights the disparity between men and women in an industry where women are the majority. Studies point to several factors impacting women’s rise to the C-suite, including work-life considerations and practices, reduced likelihood to receive milestone promotions or pay increases, and unconscious biases.

For instance, without being explicit, it is communicated to women that we have to essentially become more male if we want to lead. We should speak up, be less emotional and more assertive. There are no professional training classes for men on becoming more empathetic, or how to listen first and speak second.

Nevertheless, the Indian PR industry is setting the standards for the world to follow. We are seeing more supportive working environments in India to bridge the existing gender disparity. Today, two of the top five PR firms — #3 BCW and #5 Ketchum — have women in their global CEO roles. All of the top five have women in regional leadership roles.

From holding executive and managerial positions, women are gradually making their presence felt at a higher leadership level. In 2014, the World PR Report stated that women constitute 60-85 percent of all PR jobs globally, but women managed only 30 percent of all global PR agencies. In 2019, with progressive economic growth, expansive global markets, technology innovations, and the flourishing entrepreneurial ecosystem, women from the media and entertainment background are coming forward to create a collaborative or independent service agency.

There are still obstacles - but our current leaders championing women into leadership roles is the most needed. For there has never been a better time for women to ascend into leadership positions in PR, because both on the client and agency side, there is a mandate that gender quality must be ensured- and we now have business results that support that having a balanced leadership team equals better business. And in PR (unlike industries like tech), there is an incredible wealth of talented women that are poised and ready.

Some progress has been made, but not enough. The PR industry is dominated by women, but management roles are still dominated by men. And on top of that, PR has a diversity problem and if we are going to solve it for all under-represented groups, we cannot separate the efforts around these issues. They need to be inclusive.

In the end, the future of the Indian PR industry clearly includes many female leaders, and the forecasted figures only point towards an unprecedented perpetual increase.