✅ The Missing Women in public relations didn’t just walk away, they were silenced

A wave of industry 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. However, the tide is shifting, driven by a groundswell of activism led by groups such as Women in Public Relations, Global Women in Public Relations, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA), and industry research initiatives.

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 week. 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’s Shayonni 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.

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 month, 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The Missing Women report gave us the diagnosis: women are penalised for caregiving, stifled by outdated structures, and locked out of leadership.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.

Have a good week ahead.

---

Policy

💷 SPENDING REVIEW: Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce billions in investment this week, including £86 billion for R&D and a £30 billion boost for the NHS. The spending review is a make-or-break moment for Labour's credibility, with polling showing voters split between Starmer and Farage on economic leadership, whilst a quarter believe Britain is returning to austerity. Source: The Times.

💪 SOFT POWER: The UK government faces accusations of neglecting Britain's global influence as key soft power institutions - including the BBC World Service, British Council and universities - confront severe funding crises. Ministerial advisers warn that whilst China and Russia invest billions in expanding their influence, Britain risks ceding its historic soft power advantage through budget cuts and financial pressures on these critical cultural and educational ambassadors. Source: The Guardian.

Management

🔄 DIVERSITY REFRAME: Baroness Helena Morrissey advocates reshaping DEI debates around "cognitive diversity" rather than demographic representation. Research from London Business School suggests that while demographic diversity alone doesn't improve decision-making, cognitive diversity can drive better outcomes when properly managed. Morrissey argues that the focus should shift from "diversity as a problem to solve" to "decision-making, done well." Source: The Times.

🌍 TRUMP DIVERGENCE: European defence firms and Chinese tech giants emerge as surprising winners 20 weeks into Trump's second presidency, while Silicon Valley shows mixed performance. The Financial Times analysis of $10 bn+ companies reveals Trump's policies create a range of international corporate impacts challenging assumptions about policy winners and losers. Source: The Financial Times.

Public relations practice

🎯 REPUTATION WEAPONISATION: Microsoft-backed tech unicorn Builder.ai collapsed owing money to Israeli intelligence firm Shibumi Strategy, crisis public relations specialist Sitrick Group and litigation firm Quinn Emanuel after hiring them following damaging media coverage. A Financial Times investigation found that Builder.ai's AI-powered claims were largely fraudulent with the company relying on hundreds of human engineers while presenting their work as AI-generated. Source: The Financial Times.

📱 DIGITAL OVERWHELM: A Gen-Z writer explains that her generation struggles to reply promptly to messages despite constant phone use. Research shows that 62% of Gen-Z feel drained by online communication and use delayed responses as defence mechanisms against message bombardment and workplace communication fatigue. The phenomenon reflects generational differences in adapting to digital technology. Source: The Times.

Artificial intelligence

📈 AI ACCELERATION: Mary Meeker's latest AI trend report highlights impressive technological growth, but overlooks the critical trust and governance challenges that communications practitioners face on a daily basis. Communicators must address transparency, stakeholder scepticism, and reputational risks whilst managing AI rollout. Source: Wadds Inc.

🤖 TRUST PARADOX: Ipsos's 30-country AI Monitor reports conflicting global perceptions that create strategic challenges for brands. The research reports a trust gap, where 79% of respondents demand AI disclosure from companies, yet only 48% trust businesses to protect their data. In contrast, governments enjoy higher confidence, with 54% of respondents trusting them to regulate AI responsibly. Source: Ipsos Mori.

Media

📰 LOCAL SUCCESS: Joshi Herrmann's The Mill newsletter shows the commercial viability of subscription-based local journalism, scaling from 24 recipients in Manchester to 169,901 subscribers across six cities in five years. The venture now employs 20 full-time journalists, with more than 10,000 paying members. It has secured investment from media leaders, including CNN's Mark Thompson, making the case that local news can thrive through direct reader support. Source: Joshi Herrmann.

📱CONTENT CURATION: TikTok's new For You Feed personalisation controls has a telling omission by excluding news and educational content categories, despite users increasingly turning to the platform for information beyond entertainment. Reuters Institute analysis highlights how major platforms with substantial resources appear to deliberately avoid categorising content, raising questions about whether this reflects algorithmic limitations or strategic decisions to distance themselves from news-related responsibilities. Source: Sophie Smith Galer.

---

Thanks to Jospehine Graham, Ben Lowndes, Shayoni Lynn, Alan Morrison, Mark Strouse, Sarah Waddington CBE, Samuel Wallace and everyone who shares and debates the stories in the newsletter via our Facebook and LinkedIn communities.

We’re trusted by 4,000+ practitioners seeking clarity on issues such as artificial intelligence, diversity and societal polarisation from a management and communication perspective. We distil news, research, and industry developments twice a week into actionable briefings to help you enhance your work.

Please consider becoming a paying subscriber to support our work if you haven’t already. It would be much appreciated.