Performance gap reveals gender bias in PR industry

Though women occupy two-thirds of the positions in the field, men are making more money and climbing higher on the corporate ladder.

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Women don’t rule the PR world—at least, not yet.

Two-thirds of communicators in the global PR industry are women, as was revealed in a recent study from the Organization of Canadian Women in Public Relations and the Organization of American Women in Public.

Yet, 78 percent of chief executives in the top 30 PR agencies worldwide are men.

Male PR pros also take up 62 percent of boardroom positions. The survey also reported a difference of more than $6,000 a year when it comes to average annual salaries. Women in PR make an average of $55,212 per year compared to male counterparts’ average salary of $61,284.

Gender equality in the PR industry doesn’t improve as communicators grow older, either. Thirty-six percent of women surveyed said the industry is ageist—compared with 25 percent of their male counterparts who think the same.

However, that doesn’t mean that female communicators aren’t working to affect positive change in the industry.

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