Why public relations must break its silence on gender inequality

A wave of research and advocacy exposes the systemic forces driving women out of the public relations industry and calls for action. 

In an industry built on storytelling, it’s astonishing how many stories of gender discrimination go untold. But the tide is turning. A groundswell of activism is building, and a Me Too moment for public relations feels inevitable.

I took part in a roundtable on allyship during the launch of the Break the Silence report last night. What struck me most wasn’t just the data or the discussion. It was the silence that filled the spaces between. Around the table, each woman had a story.

Stories of unfairness, exclusion, being passed over or pushed out. And all too often, those stories were locked behind non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). These are legal tools used not for privacy, but for suppression.

Women aren’t just leaving public relations. They’re being silenced on their way out.

The silence behind the statistics

The Break the Silence report builds on the Missing Women study by Socially Mobile published in March. It investigated why nearly 4,000 women have disappeared from the UK public relations industry mid-career.

Break the Silence is a pro-bono grassroots initiative led by Lynn and supported by more than 100 practitioners. It includes the perspectives of both men and women, revealing how perception gaps and workplace cultures contribute to the persistence of inequality.

• 63% of women report unfair treatment based on gender.

• 75% of women say parenthood harmed their career, compared to just 25% of men.

• Only 53% of women believe leadership opportunities are equal, versus 79% of men.

• And 90% of all respondents agree: senior men championing gender equality could transform workplace culture, but few are stepping forward.

This isn’t just a perception problem. It’s a systemic failure, masked by polite culture and contractual constraint.

A groundswell to drive change

Last week, the PRCA published profiles of 12 women who have successfully risen to the top of the industry. The Leading Women stories revealed what’s possible when structural support exists. 

These women may be outliers for now, but they prove what’s possible. When the right conditions exist - support, flexibility, allyship, fairness - women don’t just stay in public relations. They lead it.

The Missing Women report gave us the diagnosis: women are penalised for caregiving, stifled by outdated structures, and locked out of leadership. Break the Silence exposed the silence that sustains these conditions. The PRCA’s Leading Women initiative now offers practical interventions to drive change.

What’s clear is this: the silence must end not just for those who’ve already left, but for those still navigating the industry every day. These activist initiatives are a clear call to action. It’s time the industry answered.