{"id":113258,"date":"2018-03-08T10:46:53","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T10:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=113258"},"modified":"2018-03-08T14:35:40","modified_gmt":"2018-03-08T14:35:40","slug":"international-womens-day-2018-pr-women-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/international-womens-day-2018-pr-women-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"International Women’s Day 2018: PR Women, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s International Women\u2019s Day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Women make up the majority of the UK\u2019s PR industry, but get paid significantly less<\/a>. Sexual harassment is endemic and assault all too common<\/a>. Women continued to be overlooked, underrepresented and side-lined.<\/p>\n

This #IWD2018, we\u2019ve spoken to a number of leading women in comms to find out what it is like for women in this industry, their thoughts on International Women\u2019s Day, and advice for other women who want to enter the world of PR.<\/p>\n

This is part one, read part two<\/a> and three<\/a> here.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"ShamimaShamima Begum is an executive director at Golin<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The recent PRWeek\/PRCA\/Women in PR sexual harassment survey makes for grim reading. What\u2019s it like working as a woman in the PR industry today?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>I\u2019ve been very fortunate to work at Golin for such as a long time, as diversity and inclusion has always been a top priority for us. Our leadership team at Golin is 64% female, which includes our MD, Deputy MD and Finance Director, who are all strong, inspirational women. This culture has provided the opportunity to lead and not be afraid to do so. Working in the male-dominated technology PR sector has occasionally created challenges as a woman, but we have a strong, diverse team at Golin who work together to tackle any issues.<\/p>\n

How would you use public relations to promote International Women\u2019s Day?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>It\u2019s a great opportunity to profile some of the most inspirational women within your business and this should be done at all levels, with people from all different walks of life who have achieved or made an impact despite any adversity or obstacles they faced. People are inspirational for different reasons and we need to use IWD to tell their stories.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give women who want to enter the PR industry?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Don\u2019t be afraid to be yourself. When I entered the world of PR nearly 15 years ago it felt daunting. For many years I never came across a woman in a leadership position from a BAME background, never mind someone who was born and grew up in East London. By being myself and speaking my mind, I\u2019ve found that the right people are receptive and value my opinion. Personally, it\u2019s got me to where I am today.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"FuturePRoofSarah Hall is a PR and marketing agency owner, founder of #FuturePRoof and President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) for 2018<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The recent PRWeek\/PRCA\/Women in PR sexual harassment survey makes for grim reading. What\u2019s it like working as a woman in the PR industry today?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>I\u2019ve had some bad experiences<\/a> in the past but right now it feels like a great time to be a woman in public relations. Change is definitely in the air. It\u2019s long overdue but we\u2019ve seen a series of high profile female appointments to senior roles and there are all kinds of support networks now in place designed to support female talent, such as the Women in PR and PR Week mentoring scheme<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Culturally we are seeing a huge shift within the world of business where there is finally a recognition that certain behaviours are no longer acceptable. But while the Government now requires organisations with more than 250 employees to publish their salary data, this still doesn\u2019t go far enough to close the pay gap.<\/p>\n

Businesses should all have to carry out gender and diversity audits and as per this #FuturePRoof blog<\/a>, there are steps we can all take to pay the workplace a fairer place to be.<\/p>\n

How would you use public relations to promote International Women\u2019s Day?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>International Women\u2019s Day is designed to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women.<\/p>\n

The challenge is that while there is a crescendo of voices, they tend to be mainly female.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d embark on an influencer relations campaign recruiting senior male leaders to promote and encourage female talent. If the C-Suite recognises and communicates the value of so called \u2018softer skills\u2019 in the boardroom and workplace, we can finally stop this nonsense about women needing to be more assertive, which actually just reinforces the status quo.<\/p>\n

We are different to men and difference is good. We need to focus on harnessing our complementary skillsets and then ensure there is equal access to opportunities, which is where the discrepancy lies right now.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give women who want to enter the PR industry?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Here\u2019s a few ideas to help both men and women:<\/p>\n