Study: Women In PR Held Back By Career Breaks

(MENAFN- PRovoke) LONDON - Women working in the PR and communications industry around the world are still experiencing career slowdown after taking a break for childcare or mental health reasons, according to new research.

The latest edition of Global Women in PR's Annual index – which looks at all aspects impacting women in the industry, from working environment to the barriers preventing women taking on leadership roles – found that among those who have taken a career break, over a third (35%) experienced lower pay than expected on their return to a job, rising to 45% of women in a mid-level position and less prominent for those in senior positions (29%).

The same proportion (35%) had to start work all over again at a lower level, and almost a quarter (23%) were not considered for the role they applied for. Over one in six (17%) were overlooked for a promotion following their career break.

Global Women in PR, which partnered with Opinium on the annual survey, included a new section on career breaks this year, to understand if and how career breaks impact returnees.

The findings show that career breaks impact on women is at many levels, including salary, promotions and level adjustments. Also of concern is that more than a third of women reported taking career breaks for mental health reasons.

Almost two fifths of women in PR have taken a career break (37%) - over a third have taken a career break in the past (34%), while 4% are currently on a career break. Two-fifths (40%) of senior level PR professionals report having taken a career break, notably higher than those at a mid (33%) or junior (16%) level.

In-house PR professionals were more likely to have taken a career break (37%) than their agency equivalents (28%). Freelance PR professionals were by far most likely to have taken a career break (55%). Amongst those who have taken a career break, most (36%) did so for six months to a year, followed by more than a year (31%), two-three months (19%), and four-five months (14%). On an average, women in PR have taken eight months off as a career break.

Women who have taken a career break did so primarily for childcare (39%) and stress/mental health (35%). Other reasons are less prominent, with almost one in ten (9%) taking a career break for reasons related to education, 8% did so for caring duties, 8% did so due to illness and 7% did so due to moving house.

The survey also found women continue to want more flexibility at work and for the first time in the Index, compressed hours (31%) are more desired than working part-time (24%).

Despite flexible working being seen in a positive light with the benefits well recognised, it continues to be associated with slower career progression. When asked how flexible working impacts the careers of PR professionals, over a quarter (26%) believed they progress more slowly, an increase from 23% in 2023. This belief is more likely to be held by PR professionals working in education (30%), hospitality, travel, and transportation (27%) and healthcare, life sciences, and wellbeing (27%).

Last year, over 50% of women said they faced harassment in the workplac e. The trend continues this year with some big differences – women reported facing more of each form of harassment, and more women are choosing not to report it because of fear, lack of awareness, retaliation, mental health and not being taken seriously. A third of women either left or were asked to leave their organisation when reporting harassment.

The industry (particularly agency-side) is also losing its most experienced women: a fifth of women say they would like to move out of PR and comms after they reach 50, while a fifth of women working in agencies say they would like to take on in-house roles.

While women believe they are becoming more assertive and proactive in asking for promotions, more women believe that lack of caring and family-friendly policies are impeding their progress into senior roles.

Looking at the potential barriers women face when it comes to progressing into senior positions, the strongest perceived barrier continues to be childcare or caring responsibilities (88%). Linked to this, 76% feel that the lack of flexible working and family-friendly policies prevents women from progressing into senior positions (up from 74% last year). It is important to highlight that flexible working does not necessarily translate into family-friendly policies.

There has been no significant change in 2024 in the gender split in boardrooms. Three in five (61%) respondents report boardrooms to be male-dominated. The majority of PR professionals consider the gender split of their organisations to be unfair (52%). This is more prominent amongst in-house PR professionals (62%) than those working on the agency-side (26%).

Global Women in PR co-founder and president Sue Hardwick said:
“Worryingly, our industry is mirroring trends across the world – from the erosion of women's rights, to the women choosing not to reach their potential because it feels too hard and exhausting. Having it all should not mean 'doing it all' and organisations need to be better at offering flexible working practices and access to senior role models.

“I was disappointed to see again that women continue to experience slower career progression than men, this figure has increased this year. Leaders need to recognise the issues around gender inequality and offer more mentoring and training to avoid haemorrhaging female talent.”

Download the full report here .

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