PR and Pay Equality

PR AND PAY EQUALITY: A QUALITATIVE STUDY INTO CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES ON GENDER PAY

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PR and Pay Equality:A qualitative study into challenges and perspectives on gender pay

PROFESSIONALSTANDARDS –cipr.co.uk

Research conducted by Jungle Green Market Research Agency

http://www.cipr.co.uk/content/policy-resources/policy/diversity


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About the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK and overseas. The CIPR is the biggest member organisation for PR practitioners outside of North America. By size of turnover and number of individually registered members, we are the leading representative body for the PR profession and industry in Europe.

The CIPR advances professionalism in public relations by making its members accountable to their employers and the public through a code of conduct and searchable public register, setting standards through training, qualifications, awards and the production of best practice and skills guidance, facilitating Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and awarding Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status (Chart.PR).

About Jungle Green Jungle Green mrc (formerly jgmrc) is a boutique marketing research consultancy offering a full range of research tools, techniques and services. The organisation was founded by Janice Guy who works with colleagues on an associate basis, with a strong presence in the North of England and a base in Bristol. The mission is to combine the depth of qualitative and observational research with the measurement and scoping capabilities of quantitative research to give the most balanced overall picture. Enabling clients to make informed decisions.

About Women in PR (WIPR)Women in PR is an independent networking organisation for senior and mid-career women working in the UK PR industry. Through its highly successful annual programme of events, Women in PR provides an important forum to enable members to share their experiences, exchange ideas and support one another in business.


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The CIPR, in partnership with Women in PR, conducted a qualitative research project in 2016 to understand the factors that influence gender pay inequality in the public relations industry.

The CIPR’s 2017 State of the Profession research reported that the average difference between male and female earnings in public relations is £12,316. Following regression analysis, which removed variables including seniority and educational background, the ‘true’ gender pay gap was revealed as £5,784.

The aim of this qualitative research project was to gain insights in to how gender influences pay for women in the public relations industry. The research uncovered the eight key reasons for the gender pay gap:

1. Fear and stigma Strong reluctance among women in PR to address pay inequality for fear of being negatively labelled.

2. Lack of transparency There is a perceived lack of visibility of comparative salaries in the workplace.

3. Negotiation skills Different approaches between men and women to negotiating pay.

4. Agency culture and structure Bullying and intimidation in the workplace prevents discussion about gender based differences in pay.

5. Business sector bias Women can be typecast into certain roles within the industry.

6. Generational differences Younger practitioners, millennials in particular, are thought to be more demanding in their salary expectations and negotiations.

7. Unconscious bias Male leadership may perpetuate male leadership and preferment.

8. Senior alpha females and workplace attitudes to flexible working Female employer attitudes towards family life can be less than sympathetic. Flexible working patterns and parental leave were almost universally considered to be a problem.

https://www.cipr.co.uk/node/113251


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY continued

The report offers employers and the industry a seven point action plan to tackle gender pay bias:

1. Salary bandings Industry wide research into salaries at every level of seniority.

2. Client awareness Clients demanding to work with companies that exemplify gender parity.

3. Government reporting To encourage companies to tackle the issue of transparency.

4. Leadership training Leadership training for men and women that seeks to redress alpha behaviour in both sexes.

5. Mentoring and role models Senior women doing more to sponsor younger women and offer flexible working role models.

6. Gender equality networks Internal workplace networks that include men on the discussion of parity.

7. Professional bodies Publishing reports, statistics and providing tools that will equip professionals in career development.


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1. Background and Methodology Page: 6

2. Keyfindings:Reasonsforthegenderpaygap Page:8

3. Sevenpracticalactionstoaddressthegenderpaygap Page:13

CONTENTS


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1. BACKGROUND The Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ (CIPR) State of the Profession research first examined the disparity between male and female earnings in 2012. Since 2014, the CIPR has performed multi-linear regression analyses to reveal the true influence of gender on pay. In 2017, these calculations revealed a gender pay gap of £5,784 in favour of men. This figure cannot be explained by external factors including length of service and seniority. However consistent with previous studies, this year’s research revealed that the gender pay gap manifests most aggressively at the senior level, where fewer female professionals are represented.

To explore the issues influencing gender pay, the CIPR – in partnership with Women in PR – commissioned Jungle Green market research agency – to perform a comprehensive qualitative study with 20 senior female PR professionals. The project aimed to explore how the gender pay disparity permeates the careers of women working in PR. The study aimed to use the experiences of those interviewed to shed light on culture, norms, practices and decisions which may have influenced the pay inequality.

Mean salary across the PR industry by gender (before regression analysis)

£45,799 £58,115


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METHODOLOGY The research was carried out for CIPR and Women in PR, by market research agency Jungle Green.

• 20 women in senior agency PR roles were interviewed during October 2016. 17 were from London and three were from outside London

• The interviews were confidential and the findings are presented anonymously

• Half were interviewed by phone; half in person, in one-on-one interviews

• An interview script was used, however most findings were derived from free-flowing conversation that outlined the personal experience of the interviewee

• Small, medium and large organisations were all represented in the sample

• The majority of interviewees were over 40 years of age.


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2. RESEARCH FINDINGS

11% agree

11% agree

21% agree

83% agree

84% agree

84% agree

74% agree

47% agree

26% agreeI feel there is a flexible working culture throughout the PR industry

I feel that men and women are treated equally in all respects within the PR industry

I am satisfied that there is sufficient action being taken by those responsible, to further close the gender pay gap in PR

I have a satisfactory awareness and understanding of the action that is being

taken to address the gender pay gap in PR

I am satisfied with all aspects of my current position within the PR industry

I feel valued and respected as a member of the PR community

I would readily recommend a career in PR to other women

I am proud to work in the PR industry

I am confident that the gender pay gap will close further over the next 5 years

The sample were asked to share their opinions in response to key questions:


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Reasons for the gender pay gap:

1. Fear and stigma combined: The women who took part in the survey indicated that they were unwilling to bring up the issue of pay, fearing being labelled as “trouble makers”. They felt there was a stigma in their generation (40+) regarding discussing pay.

2. Lack of transparency: Pay is not openly discussed and many women who had thought they were being paid well, have sometimes discovered that their male colleagues were being paid more in similar roles.

3. Negotiating skills: Women may perceive a need for greater security and stability and the sample seemed to believe that men found it easier to move jobs. Women may second guess themselves and their abilities. Men were felt to be more likely to aggressively negotiate, job hop and compare and find out the salaries of their contemporaries.

“I think men have a tendency to over exaggerate their skills and want to stretch to the next level. Women only feel comfortable to ask when they can clearly demonstrate they are doing all that is required of them.”

“It would be squirmingly embarrassing to admit that I know what salary somebody else is on internally and use it as a lever. They’d think you’d been gossiping and tittle tattling.”

“It was only when we broke away and decided to set up our own agency that I realised my equal male colleague had been earning more than me, we had to agree what to pay ourselves and he had to take a much bigger pay cut than I did.”

“I asked if a gender pay gap audit could be done for my team which escalated in to a full gender pay gap audit of the whole office. The results showed that at the lower levels there wasn’t a problem but at the senior level it was a dog’s dinner, including my own case. Later, I was called in to a meeting and was asked to leave the business. It was an intimidating meeting and I was obviously seen as ‘trouble’.”

“I never felt underpaid. I just judged what I was on before and compared it to what I was earning now. I was being paid a lot of money in my opinion. When I started doling out pay rises myself I learnt what others were on for the first time. I realised then that the men were being paid more.”

“Frankly its all about who goes in and threatens to leave, ‘’either pay me to stay or I’ll go’’. Men tended to do this more often in my experience.”

“I didn’t really push on the money front. It wasn’t my number one concern. It was about fulfilment and friendliness. I think men are much less bothered about that.”

“Men seem more prepared to jump around between agencies and frankly that leads to more opportunities for discussions on salary. I need security and stability but it means I’m lucky if I get a salary conversation once a year and that’s never going to lead to a big hike in pay.”


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4. Agency culture and structure: Bullying and intimidation in the workplace was the biggest barrier to discussion of a workplace gender pay gap. There was an inference that larger agencies can be more competitive and less accommodating of family life. This implies that those women who seek a work/life balance would not be in a strong position to request a pay rise or promotion.

5. Business and sector bias: Women may have found themselves cast in ‘people facing’ roles or as a token presence in the boardroom. They may be excluded from strategic roles in the business.

6. Generational differences: There was a perception among the sample that the millennial generation has a more transparent and forward approach to requesting pay increases, that the sample did not posses at that age or now.

“Big network agencies don’t look after their people. You’re treated like a number. Just people that can be replaced. I couldn’t make a difference there and didn’t like the behaviour. We worked long hours and thought if this is the way it’s going to be we might as well go and do it differently for ourselves.”

“I was seen as the bubbly consumer person, the fun stuff, it wasn’t highly thought of there.”

“Millennials are much more self-centred and demanding for what they want. Much less afraid to speak up for themselves.”

“They (female millennials in PR) are much more in to negotiating hard, more ambitious about it and they make more agency moves than we did.”

“Once you see it, it wears you down, the girls look after the people and the boys need to look after the money with aggression and drive. It’s absolute rubbish but that’s how it’s perceived.”

“The millennials champion conversations that I would never have dreamt of. They have an incredible sense of ‘I deserve’ and very little commitment coming back. It makes them painful to work with but it will massively help the gender pay gap thing. I have guns to my head every week.”

‘’They made me the mother of the agency.’’

“I’ve seen appalling behaviour, combat in meetings, shouting, screaming, work being torn up and people told not to come back again. There’s a worrying correlation in this industry that the most successful agencies financially are the worst behaved in terms of bullying and intimidation. We try to be as successful as the best but not as badly behaved.”


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7. Unconscious bias: People tend to gravitate towards and sponsor people who mirror them; meaning male leadership could be reproduced in senior management. Some commented that females who speak up are perceived to be aggressive, which may stop them from discussing pay.

8. Senior alpha females and workplace attitudes to flexible working: Experiences were shared of unexpected reactions from female employers towards family life. Many had worked incredibly hard and made considerable family life sacrifices over time to get to where they were. This could lead to a feeling of being underwhelmed when today’s employees made family life related requests. Flexible working patterns and parental leave were almost universally considered to be a problem. Female and male employers alike feel these present continuity difficulties for clients and cause resentment among staff members.

“Most HR directors are token women on the board and when they get in there they get shouted down and give up fighting.”

‘’I was back to work 2 weeks after giving birth, why should I pay for all this extended leave?”

“There’s a feeling you have to be tougher than the boys and only the women that gravitate to that sort of behaviour are noticed. There are much better ways of winning business, like building relationships!”

“You will undoubtedly lose a client when someone is on maternity leave. You have to chivvy the other staff to cover it. That causes resentment. Then they come back and want their job back but the income isn’t there anymore. Then a big bill for constructive dismissal results.”


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Other reflections• Women in the 40+ generation recognise that gender pay is “a thing”, but they are not sure

what can be done to tackle it

• Many thought that PR as a whole was a rewarding career and that compared to other industries it was very well paid

• Most felt respected and valued in the PR community and some have close female family members who also work in the industry

• There was a fear of discussing the issue, but a contradictory trend of resistance to millennials who approached them openly requesting a pay rise

• As more men request flexible working and other working styles, more open discussion on gender pay may assist in creating a more family friendly working culture within PR

• Many were not aware of the Government’s initiative that requires pay scale reporting from companies, but said this may promote a more open discussion internally on the issue of pay

• Where there was a gender balance in the leadership of a business, there was a perception of a healthy gender balance in decision making

• PR needs to lead the conversation on gender pay, as negative attitudes towards women and the question of equality in the workplace are still present in PR.


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3. PRACTICAL ACTIONS TO ADDRESS THE GENDER PAY GAP The research highlighted ways in which the structures that create a gender pay bias may be eroded over time. For example, the millennial generation becoming established in the workplace with a different approach to pay, or male and female colleagues openly discussing their pay and seeking to tackle any perceived discrepancies. There will be more internal and external demands on employers to publish gender pay gap statistics. Pay review protocols may change to be more transparent and it may become normal practice for employers to publish grades/bands and associated salaries. More employees may encourage employers to read literature on gender equality and those who speak up could do so without the risk of being labelled “trouble”.

However, our research has shown that there are practical steps that can be taken to tackle the gender pay gap today:

Seven Point Action Plan

1. Comprehensive outline of salary banding: the State of the Profession annual survey produces a rough guide to current earnings, but recruiters, the CIPR and others could provide more information about the salaries available at different levels of the PR industry. CIPR recently took part in Hays salary banding exercise which set out pay bands by region.

2. Client awareness - making gender parity and pay a business issue: Clients increasingly demand to work with companies that have gender parity. The possibility of losing income may be the most effective external factor to tackling the gender pay gap.

3. Government reporting: From April 2018 companies with 250+ employees will be required to publish their salary structures. This may help create an open and transparent culture. However, the vast majority of employers in PR will not be covered by this requirement and more needs to be done to make women aware that they should not be stigmatised for asking about workplace pay equality.

4. Leadership Training that focuses on adaptive leadership and new models that move beyond the aggressive alpha behaviour. This form of leadership is about taking on a gradual but meaningful process of change. This should involve additional training for existing leaders and new training for the leaders of tomorrow. The result, senior female PR professionals believe, would be a more balanced boardroom with a healthy suite of alpha and beta, male and female progressive leaders with the ability to future proof the PR industry. Sculpting it to be both successful and able to attract the best of emerging millennial and gen Z talent.

5. Mentoring and role models: Senior women mentor and sponsor younger female colleagues but more role models are needed to demonstrate that flexible working works for both men and women.

6. Gender equality networks: workplace networks that include both men and women could be established to drive equality.

7. Professional Bodies: should lead continuous research and guidance to develop best practice.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/mandatory-gender-pay-gap-reporting

https://hbr.org/2010/11/four-lessons-in-adaptive-leadership

Chartered Institute of Public Relations52-53 Russell SquareLondon WC1B 4HP

+44 (0)20 7631 6900Web: cipr.co.uk Follow us on Twitter: @CIPR_UK

PROFESSIONALSTANDARDS –cipr.co.uk

http://www.cipr.co.uk/content/policy-resources/policy/diversity

PR and Pay Equality

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