London,
10
March
2014
|
12:00
Europe/London

CIPR issues commitment to tackle equal pay and gender balance in Public Relations

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations has issued a commitment to its members and the wider Public Relations profession to tackle the issue of equal pay for women and gender balance in the workplace.

This comes after the results of the latest CIPR State of the Profession survey published in February 2014 which revealed an average gender pay gap of over £12,000 in favour of men, and the fact that, from Account Manager/Press Officer level and above, men, on average, are being paid more than women when performing the same roles.

A commitment to debate and deliver further action on gender equality at the next CIPR Council meeting was announced on International Women’s Day, Saturday 8 March, with work being led by Sarah Hall CIPR Board Member and owner of Sarah Hall Consulting Ltd., and Avril Lee, Member of the CIPR Diversity Working Group and Director at Luther Pendragon.

Key matters to be addressed include:

  • Ways to improve transparency and recognise best practice
  • Promotion of female Public Relations practitioners in senior management roles
  • Development of a framework to help organisations better manage the maternity leave process and a code of practice for when the person returns to work
  • Guidance on introducing flexible working and the benefits
  • Support for individuals after maternity leave
  • A combined assertiveness / legislation workshop to help practitioners better negotiate salary packages and understand their legal rights.

This accompanied a successful #CIPRCHAT on Friday 7 March which debated the issue with over 150 participants, and the release of an industry-wide ‘Mind the Gap’ survey which has already gathered over 200 responses in two days.

Notes to editors

Notes to editors

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 largest membership 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).