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Championing gender equality in the PR workplace

Annie Hayes smiling headshot

Annie Hayes at PRWeek Jobs shares her advice on how to ‘walk’ the PR ‘talk’ when it comes to gender equality, as we approach International Women’s Day (IWD). 

Celebrating women’s achievements, raising awareness against bias, and taking action for equality. These are all key themes for this year’s International Women’s Day (8th March) and the workplace has an important role to play in helping to create a world that is diverse, equitable and inclusive. 

Here are some useful tips to help you implement robust gender equality strategies in your company.

Prove the PR: There’s no good talking about it if you refuse to actually do it. We are referring to establishing gender equality and not just producing the PR for our clients to deliver on the issue. It’s high profile and particularly more so since the pandemic shed light on the plight of childcaring falling predominantly in women’s laps and impacting their careers when orders to work from home and juggle both responsibilities hit. The first strategy is to audit the gap. Compare the PR public brand with the reality in the workplace. Consult and gather data. Is equality happening when it comes to pay, promotion and opportunities? Where do the challenges lie and what plans are being put in place to ensure that external images match up with internal experiences?

Benchmark pay: Equal pay is an issue that is as old as the dinosaurs. PR professionals can employ the tools of their trade and educate the workforce that it is ok to shout out where equality is concerned. Yet, for many women, they feel they shouldn’t have to if robust pay transparency is in place and again, sharing information is in the armoury of the PR workforce. Improvements can begin by reviewing and communicating employee compensation regularly, disclosing salary levels, checking starting salaries are equal between men and women, and removing any bias from performance related pay, bonuses or overtime.

Lead from the top: Championing equality has more impact if it is sponsored from the top. Setting internal targets is a key way of measuring the effectiveness of these strategies. Data is important, understanding how many men vs women hold leadership roles, the gender balance between applicants for new entrants and the barriers holding them back. Weaving these targets into client communications is another good way of showing you lead from the top when it comes to gender equality within your industry. Promoting successes is a great way of sharing how far your business has come in making progress in ensuring the workplace is fair and inclusive between the sexes.

Remove barriers: Understanding what is preventing women, working parents, carers or men from moving ahead with their careers is another important element of moving an equality strategy forward. Flexible working policies must be regularly assessed to ensure they give those with caring responsibilities equal access to development opportunities, improved pay and recognition at work. Are the internal messages working? Can equality policies be improved? Is flexible working still working? PR companies must always be asking themselves and their employees how they can improve and importantly act upon that feedback. 

Address the PR stories: Recently, the challenges that menopausal and non-binary women go through in their late 40s and 50s has been highlighted by high-profile career women in the press. Some 80% of menopausal people will experience symptoms during their later career. It’s an important point which illustrates the importance of caring for women during the start, middle and end of their careers, and accepting the challenges that they and their male colleagues may be going through. If the issues are in the media, then the chances are that the industry that you work in put it there. It’s important that PR professionals address campaigns such as these and others including those that support an end to sexual harassment at work, such as #MeToo and #Time’sUp which demonstrate that there is a zero-tolerance approach to sexual discrimination within the sector.

 

To talk to us about your talent attraction and retention strategy and how PRWeek can help you build and communicate your employer brand or recruitment marketing, email prcamembersjobs@haymarket.com to book a consultation to discuss your needs.