Published 20th Nov 2025
Global Women in PR and Opinium Research today released the findings of the GWPR Annual Index 2025, revealing that while progress toward gender equality in public relations continues, it remains slow and uneven.
The study, which surveyed over 550 senior female PR professionals worldwide, highlights that male-dominated boardrooms have dropped from 61% in 2024 to 51% in 2025, showing steady improvement. However, 85% of respondents believe more must be done to ensure women have greater boardroom presence, as familiar barriers, such as caring responsibilities, inflexible working practices, and lack of transparency, persist.
“Progress is not a straight line; it’s a system that requires maintenance,” said Johna Burke, FAMEC, CEO and Global Managing Director at AMEC. “Awareness must now turn into accountability. Every percentage in this report represents a woman with talent and drive and our task is to ensure the system allows her to thrive.”
Key Findings
- Flexible working rebounds: 74% of PR professionals value the option to work remotely at least one day a week, and 66% say their organisations take a positive approach to flexible practices – returning to pre-2024 levels.
- Leadership gap narrows slowly: The proportion of gender-balanced boardrooms has risen to 29%, with only 8% now entirely male-led.
- Career breaks still penalise women: 41% of women have taken a career break, yet over half of organisations (51%) offer no return-to-work programmes.
- Harassment remains endemic: Half of women in PR report experiencing harassment or inappropriate behaviour at work, and although reporting has improved to 47%, 38% of cases result in no action.
- DE&I fatigue emerges: 20% of professionals report their organisation has removed Diversity and Inclusion from its communications, signalling a worrying drop in focus on equality targets.
“This year’s findings show resilience among women in PR but also reveal that systems still lag behind the talent,” said Claire Foster, Chart.PR FCIPR, GWPR Executive Board, who coordinated this year’s survey.
“We’re seeing women rebuilding their confidence and influence, but we must make sure that flexibility and inclusion are treated as strategic imperatives, not perks.”
“Thank you to everyone who contributed to this year’s Index and to our GWPR groups worldwide for making it possible. While there are signs of progress, the results also show how far we still must go. Flexible working is improving, and boardrooms are slowly becoming more balanced, yet too many women continue to face barriers, from stalled career progression to a lack of real protection against inappropriate behaviour. Our GWPR Index is a reminder that change is happening, but not fast enough and we must keep pushing.”
Sue Hardwick, GWPR Co-Founder
The Global Women in PR Annual Index 2025 also identifies a growing trend of women leaving traditional employment to start their own consultancies. One in seven female PR professionals plan to open their own firm before turning 50, reflecting both entrepreneurial spirit and frustration with the pace of corporate progress.
About the Global Women in PR Annual Index
The Annual Index 2025 was conducted by Opinium Research between July and September 2025, capturing the voices of women across agency, in-house, freelance, and independent roles in more than 20 countries. The Index measures trends in flexible working, leadership representation, harassment, and DE&I priorities across the PR industry.
About Global Women in PR (GWPR)
Global Women in PR is a not-for-profit organisation that connects, champions, and supports women in senior PR and communications roles around the world. With national groups and affiliates across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, Asia, and Australia, GWPR is dedicated to empowering women to fulfil their potential and to driving gender-balanced leadership across the industry.
Visit www.globalwpr.com/annual-index for the full Annual Index 2025 report.
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