Episode 25 – Supporting Menopause at Work – is hosted by Stuart Culley Chart.PR, an in-house communications practitioner in the construction sector and CIPR EDI Champion. In this episode, Stuarts sets out to learn what perimenopause and menopause mean for the people going through them and for the colleagues, line managers, and partners who support them.

Stuart is joined by guests:

• Helen Crumley Chart.PR, a communications leader with 25 years’ experience across the public, health and not-for-profit sectors
• Ruth Rosselson, Resilience Co-ordinator at Manchester Mind
• Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe Chart.PR, a strategic corporate communications leader in the public sector and EDI Champion for the CIPR North West Group

Drawing on their own experiences, the guests explain how symptoms can begin years before periods stop and can last for many years. They describe symptoms that go well beyond hot flushes, including poor sleep, anxiety, heart palpitations, and forgetfulness. They also discuss how they found support through their GP, HRT, mindfulness, and peer groups. The panel looks at why some women reduce their hours or leave work and at what organisations lose when they do.

The panel concludes by examining what good workplace support looks like. This ranges from reasonable adjustments tailored to the individual, such as flexible working and workplace passports, to line managers who know the policy and start with a conversation. Guests make the case for treating menopause like any other inclusion need. They also explain how anyone can be an ally by listening and pointing colleagues towards policies and support groups.

Alongside the episode, the CIPR has published a menopause resource pack curated by Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe. The pack explains the stages of menopause and sets out practical resources that employers, line managers, colleagues and people going through menopause can all use.

• Listen to the episode on Spotify and Apple Music
• Download the Menopause Resource Pack
• Find out more about the CIPR Engage Podcast
• CIPR members can log 5 CPD points for listening to this episode

The change positions EDI learning alongside the existing ethics requirement within the 60-point annual CPD framework. Members' CPD cycles will only be marked as complete once both components are fulfilled, and the MyCPD dashboard will track progress against the new requirement in the same way it does for ethics points.

Over 80 free EDI activities are already listed on the CIPR’s CPD database, covering areas such as inclusive communications, understanding bias and behaviour, and building inclusive organisations. Members will also be able to log bespoke or external EDI learning as a custom activity.

The change was recommended by the CIPR's EDI Committee and approved by its Council and Board. It follows the Institute becoming the first professional body to achieve the National Equality Standard in 2023 and was identified as a priority point of consideration in its EDI Strategy.

• Log EDI CPD activities through MyCPD and explore a curated list of free EDI resources.
• Read our dedicated FAQs on the EDI CPD requirement.

Jo chairs the Women in Transport group and is Founder and CEO of public affairs consultancy, JFG Communications. Since joining Women in Transport's Board in 2015, she has led the organisation's transformation, including its evolution from WTS London in 2017.

She has been recognised for her work including authoring research examining how women working in transport perceive gender balance in the sector. This has led to the development of a programme for ethnic minority women and the establishment of the Lead programme, to support members progressing into leadership roles.

She also built the cross-party coalition behind the All-Party Parliamentary Group for women in transport, established in 2016 and designed to keep gender balance on the parliamentary agenda.

The report – 'An age-old problem: What can we do to tackle ageism in PR?' – was conducted by Jenny Manchester MCIPR and sponsored by the CIPR’s PR Research Fund. Through 44 semi-structured interviews with PR professionals across different age groups, sectors, and seniority levels, the study examines how age-related bias manifests in workplace culture, recruitment and retention practices, and attitudes towards older professionals.

The research reveals a range of experiences of age-related bias. Participants described being subjected to age-based comments, excluded from meetings and campaigns, stereotyped as less creative or digitally capable than younger colleagues despite their experience and expertise, and facing assumptions that limited their opportunities.

The research also highlights the intersection of ageism with gender discrimination, noting that women face compounded challenges as they age within the profession, often being excluded from leadership opportunities and facing greater barriers to progression and fair treatment.

To address these issues, the report presents recommendations for creating more age-inclusive workplace cultures, including reforming HR policies and recruitment practices to avoid cementing age bias, implementing flexible working arrangements, and fostering intergenerational collaboration across the industry.

The study is accompanied by a practical checklist for employers, line managers, and individuals, developed with the Centre for Ageing Better, providing starting points for developing age-friendly cultures in PR organisations.  The checklist is part of a more comprehensive Age-friendly culture toolkit aimed at large and small employers developed by the Centre.

• Download the research and checklist.
• Read more CIPR Research Fund reports.
• The Centre for Ageing Better is hosting a webinar presentation on What is an 'Age-friendly Culture' and how do we know if we have one? on 23 September from 13:00-14:00 BST. It covers what shapes an 'Age-friendly workplace culture' and explores the main areas where ageism may show up in your workplace.

The report showcases the Institute's first governance review in a decade, resulting in the appointment of The Rt Hon Dame Maria Miller as the CIPR's first Independent Chair of the Board. It details the intensified Lobbying for Good Lobbying campaign, expanded international partnerships, and new and innovative research including the PR Population Report, the State of the Profession industry analysis, and a diverse range of Research Fund reports.

Published in an accessible and interactive online format, the report also celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Excellence Awards and highlights new services including the Agency & Client Finder and Careers in PR Hub, alongside continued professional development initiatives and diversity programmes.

Members will have the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of the current, past, and future CIPR Presidents as well as the Institute's Chair of the Board and CEO at the CIPR's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday 9 July. Register online to attend.

• Read the CIPR's 2024 Annual Report
• Register for the CIPR's AGM online

Now entering its fourth year, the scheme has grown by 50% – a powerful signal that, despite mounting pressure and scrutiny on DEI initiatives, many agencies and in-house teams are reaffirming their commitment to building inclusive cultures. Participating organisations in 2025 include BT, Virgin Money, Freuds, MONY Group, and others.

Over the next 10 months, 20 senior leaders from across the industry will be paired with PR and comms professionals from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds. These partnerships are designed to spark candid conversations, challenge bias, and drive cultural change by allowing senior leaders to hear first-hand experiences from underrepresented voices in the industry.

• All participants were carefully selected and matched through a joint process led by the CIPR and the Taylor Bennett Foundation, drawing on a wide pool of agency and in-house professionals across sectors.
• The programme will run until February 2026.

The report covers the period between October 2023 and October 2024 and demonstrates the Institute's progress across the four key pillars outlined in its EDI strategy: leading practice development, championing lifelong learning, building a resilient community, and advocating for public relations. It showcases the CIPR's work in expanding its offer of EDI learning resources, publishing research, and supporting initiatives that break down barriers to entry and progression throughout public relations.

Key achievements include:

• The publication of a five-part EDI guide series, with over 4,500 downloads during the reporting period
• More than 1,100 members accessing on-demand EDI training
• The allocation of £75,000 through the Iprovision 75 Fund to support people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds to start or advance in a career in PR

• Read the CIPR's new Annual EDI Progress Report 2024
• Learn more about the CIPR's EDI Strategy
• Explore the CIPR's EDI resources

The Reverse Mentoring Programme, pioneered by the CIPR's Diversity and Inclusion Network, pairs senior PR leaders with Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) professionals, fostering meaningful conversations on race, inclusion, and allyship. The 10-month programme provides a platform for mentees to share their lived experiences, helping senior leaders build more inclusive workplaces and develop strategies that reflect the diversity of society.

At the closing event, held at Freud Communications, mentees and mentors reflected on the impact of their experiences. Mentees spoke to the relationships they had made and how this had informed their approach to inclusive cultures at their workplace. 

This year's programme saw industry-wide participation and included senior leaders from Headland, Teneo, Hope&Glory, Lloyds Banking Group, ICG, and the Ministry of Justice, underscoring the industry's growing recognition of the importance of EDI. Applications for the fourth cohort of Mentors and Mentees for the Reverse Mentoring Programme are now open until 21st February 2025.

• Applications for the fourth cohort of the Reverse Mentoring Programme are open until 21st February 2025. To apply, visit their dedicated webpage.

The final instalment in a five-part series of guides is designed to enhance understanding of disability allyship and advocacy by offering practical strategies for how PR professionals can support colleagues and close the gap between industry discourse and tangible change. The guide is part of a free-to-download series of EDI essentials, covering the following topics: 

• EDI Basics 
• Inclusive Language 
• Inclusive Communications 
• Inclusive Events 
• Disability advocacy and allyship 

The guides have been written by Sara Thornhurst Chart.PR, MCRIP and Vickie Cox MCIPR with input from Diversity and Inclusion Network Chair Avril Lee MCIPR and Cornelius Alexander Dip CIPR, FCIPR, Found.Chart.PR.  

• Download the series of guides now
• Each guide is worth 5 CPD points
• Find out more about the CIPR's Diversity and Inclusion Network

The six 'Mix & Match' modules enable PR practitioners to design their own customised EDI course tailored to their individual or organisational needs. Each module offers guidance on integrating EDI principles into communications work and provides tactics for promoting EDI best practice across the workplace. 

The six ‘Mix & Match’ modules are:

• Inclusive Communication
• Bias in Decision-Making
• Inclusive Policies & Practices
• Microaggressions
• Allyship & Advocacy
• Inclusive Language

Non-members can access the modules for £20 each, with a 10% discount automatically applied when purchasing three or more modules in a bundle.

The CIPR will continue to expand its on-demand EDI training offerings, with plans to introduce additional modules covering topics such as Unconscious Bias and Stereotypes, Inclusive Communications, Conflict Resolution, and more.

• Find out more about our on-demand training and the courses available at On-Demand Training CIPR.
• Each module is worth 3 CPD points and takes approximately 35 minutes to complete.

The scheme supports progressive learning as senior agency and in-house leaders are paired with a PR and comms professional from a Black, Asian, or ethnic minority background. The participants will exchange insights, challenges and their experiences as minorities and discuss forward thinking ideas to encourage EDI and a PR practice that better reflects the diversity of modern society.

The 2024 cohort includes (not limited to):   

Mentors:  

• Alicia Solanki, Senior Vice President (EMEA), Team Lewis  
• Shamma Kelly, PR Manager, Clifford Chance  
• Ed Tan, Account Director, 5654 & Company 
• Andrea Ilaka, Associate Director, Golin  
• Freeha Rafiq, Director, Corporate Communications (Global), Amicus Therapeutics 
• Jinmi Macaulay, Director of External Communications, Data Communications Company 
• Tani Fatuga, Senior Communications Consultant, Hard Numbers  
• Zoe Beard, Senior Manager, PR & Communications, Bitmovin  
• Matthew Geer, Head of Communications & Marketing, Kent Housing Association 
• Ruvina Uppal, Corporate and Tech, Communications Leader  
• Anita Salhotra, Communications Specialist  

Mentees: 

• Andy Williams, Senior Client Services Director, WPR  
• Adam Mack, Head of Strategy, Hope & Glory 
• Selena Callas, Senior Managing Director, Teneo  
• Fiona Laffan, Global Head of Corporate Affairs, ICG  
• Joe Walton, Managing Partner, Fight or Flight  
• Hannah Devoy, Creative Director, Missive  
• Richard Jones, Head of News, Ministry of Justice 
• Elizabeth Kanter, Owner, Avex Government Affairs 
• Jenny Todd, UK Managing Director, Archetype UK 
• Suzanne Morris, Chief Operating Officer, Headland Consultancy  
• Sarah Kent, Managing Director, Whistle PR  
• Caroline Lagden, Head of Colleague Channels & Experience, Lloyds Banking Group 
• Laurian Hubbard, Head of Engagement Services, Welsh Parliament 

• All participants were interviewed and screened by the CIPR and the Taylor Bennett Foundation from a broad range of agencies and in-house working in a variety of sectors.  
• The scheme is expected to end February 2025 and CIPR and the Taylor Bennett Foundation will continue to assess the findings and apply more initiatives to ongoing programmes.  

Key concerns emerging from the research include:

• Widespread scepticism that ambitious EDI goals are being translated into meaningful actions, with a perception that rhetoric and box-ticking exercises bring few tangible improvements. As a result, support for EDI efforts seems to be waning.
• Access and entry routes into many professions that remain challenging for people from minority backgrounds, with systemic barriers related to affordability of qualifications, accessibility issues, and lack of role models. This contradicts notions that professional success is based on merit.  
• Many professionals feeling excluded from informal networks and opportunities to develop. More than half (53%) have considered leaving their employer or profession due to EDI concerns, related to feeling undervalued or having limited scope to progress.  

However, the research shows that tailored solutions can have significant impacts. It reveals a range of initiatives viewed as effective when well-executed: from normalising flexible working and creating accessible learning resources, to targeted development programmes and removing biases in hiring.

To drive change, the report proposes professional and regulatory bodies can raise the bar for accountable, ethical professions with respect to EDI. It also includes further recommendations, categorised by audience, for organisations involved in this research, policymakers, employers, and individual professionals.

Ultimately, achieving systemic change demands multi-stakeholder commitments.

The professional membership and regulatory bodies involved in the research:

• ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)
• The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII)
• CILEx Regulation (CRL)
• The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
• The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
• The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)
• The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS)
• The Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
• The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
• The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)
• The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM)
   

The guide - Inclusive Events – is the fourth in a five-part series of guides and is designed to provide PR and communications professionals with a toolkit to inspire action and progress for improving the diversity and inclusion of events. It offers practical tips, checklists, and recommendations to make events, whether for clients or our own industry, as inclusive as possible.

Inclusive Events can be used as an onboarding tool for new employees, a foundation to build inclusive processes and systems, and as a guide to make sure your organisation’s events are accessible and align with the core values of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

The CIPR’s Diversity and Inclusion Network will publish the fifth and final instalment in the series of guides, Advocacy and Allyship, in December 2023.

The guides have been written by Sara Thornhurst Chart.PR, MCIPR with input from Avril Lee MCIPR and Cornelius Alexander Dip CIPR, FCIPR, Found. Chart. PR.

• Download the CIPR's Diversity and Inclusion Network series of guides.
• Each guide is worth five CIPR CPD points.
• Find out more about the CIPR's Diversity and Inclusion Network.

Hosted by John Clegg, Internal Communications and Engagement Manager at HR Wallingford, Episode 13 – Winning the War for Talent – is the third instalment in the Engage series dedicated to celebrating the CIPR’s 75th anniversary.

This episode explores what tactics organisations are using to recruit their top talent. It delves into the shift towards hybrid working as the “new normal” post-pandemic and examines the generational differences towards workplace flexibility. The panellists unpack the industry’s struggles with a lack of representation and diversity at both junior and senior levels.

Joining host, John Clegg, for this episode are:

• Christine Yuan, Senior Talent Acquisition Partner, BCW
• Toluwani Omotoye, Communications Coordinator, Global X ETFs

• Listen to the Engage Podcast on Apple, Google or Spotify
• Find out more about the CIPR's Engage Podcast

Published today, the strategy outlines the CIPR's plans to develop and adapt its activities and champion EDI best practice across six areas; the CIPR staff team, volunteers, the Institue's governance structure, CIPR members, the wider PR profession, and private, public and third sector leadership. The document details how changes will be embedded in these areas and how progress will be monitored in line with the Institute's five-year strategic plan.

The strategy has been developed by the CIPR's EDI Committee following years of research by the Institute highlighting a lack of progression in the PR profession on diversity, with data showing that 9 in 10 UK practitioners are White and 25% are privately educated, around four times higher than the UK national average. The CIPR's 2020 Race in PR report by the Institute's Diversity and Inclusion Network found Black, Asian, or Ethnic Minority practitioners experienced racism, microaggressions, and unconscious biases in the PR industry as well as inflexible working cultures that deny opportunities for fair progression.

• Download the CIPR's new EDI Strategy
• Find out more about the CIPR's journey towards achieving the National Equality Standard
• Find out more about the CIPR's Diversity and Inclusion Network (DIN)
• Download the CIPR's 2020 Race in PR report

Published ahead of Global Accessibility Awareness Day on Thursday 18 May, Inclusive Language - the second in a five-part series of guides - is designed to improve understanding across the public relations profession of the importance of inclusion in the language practitioners use.

The CIPR’s Diversity and Inclusion Network published a guide to EDI Basics in March and will publish the following resources throughout 2023;

• Inclusive Communications (June 2023)
• Inclusive Events (September 2023)
• Advocacy and Allyship (December 2023)

The guides have been written by Sara Thornhurst Chart.PR, MCIPR and Vickie Cox MCIPR with input from Avril Lee MCIPR and Cornelius Alexander Dip CIPR, FCIPR, Found. Chart. PR. 

• Download the first guide - EDI Basics. 
• Each guide is worth five CIPR CPD points. 
• Find out more about the CIPR's Diversity and Inclusion Network.

‘EDI Basics’ – published by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations' (CIPR) Diversity and Inclusion Network - includes definitions of equality, diversity, and inclusion and associated terms, explains how these apply in practice, and outlines ways to create an equitable future within the PR industry.

Readers are encouraged to use this new guide as an onboarding tool for new employees, as a foundation to build inclusive processes and systems, and to ensure their organisation's work aligns with the core values of EDI.

Throughout 2023 the Network will be launching the following resources;

• Inclusive Language (May 2023)
• Inclusive Communications (June 2023)
• Inclusive Events (September 2023)
• Advocacy and Allyship (December 2023)

The guides have been written by Sara Thornhurst Chart.PR, MCIPR and Vickie Cox MCIPR with input from Avril Lee MCIPR and Cornelius Alexander Dip CIPR, FCIPR, Found. Chart. PR. 

• Each guide is worth five CPD points, claim points via out CPD database 
• Find out more about the Diversity and Inclusion Network.