Employers are warned: publish salary bands or risk losing top talent
The public affairs industry is losing out on top talent by not publishing their salary bands, according to latest figures from a survey of female public affairs professionals.
9 February 2022
The annual Women in Public Affairs (WiPA) survey, led by research agency Opinium, revealed that nine in ten women find publishing salary bands and the gender pay gap important practices for the public affairs (PA) industry (92% and 90% respectively); however, only 26% of PA professionals say their companies currently publish salary bands.
Nine in ten (87%) women in PA are less likely to respond to a job advertisement if it doesn’t show salary bands. Sadly, with only 26% of companies publishing salary bands, this means that three quarters of the industry are potentially missing out on top tier female talent, and likely further perpetuating the gender gap in the industry.
The survey also found that:
Women working in public affairs don’t feel they are paid the same as male colleagues. 35% of women believe pay differs for men and women at the same level in their business, with the number rising to over 40% in larger companies with 50+ employees.
58% have experienced discrimination at work, most commonly on the basis of their gender or age.
Only 13% think the industry is good at helping women progress, with half feeling they face greater barriers than men. The public affairs industry, like the wider business community, needs to make strides to change this.
The research found that three in five women in public affairs do not know their company’s maternity policy well. However, more positively, among those who claim that they do know their maternity policy, 72% said the offering was above the statutory level.
In response to the findings, WiPA will be launching an inquiry into pay transparency in the industry and is calling on industry leaders to commit to a timeline to publish salary bands. The organisation will also be launching a series of events aimed at increasing diversity at senior levels in public affairs.
WiPA Chair, Charlotte Adamson said: “In our third industry survey, we are starting to see some progress on salary transparency, which is welcome. However, the majority of the industry is still lagging behind. A lack of transparency over pay, progression and maternity leave policies has a reputational risk for the industry and is perpetuating existing gender gaps. After the spotlight shone on the industry’s approach to transparency in 2021, we hope 2022 is the year the industry makes greater progress in creating more inclusive and transparent workplace cultures.”
Opinium Senior Research Manager, Ande Milinyte said: “This is our third annual WiPA survey – second one in a pandemic – and it’s clear that once again, for women in the sector, it’s all work and no (equal) pay. Women are starting to head for the exit, calling on companies to start offering transparency on pay, levels of equality and maternity policy. With so many talented female PA professionals out there, companies are shooting themselves in the foot by refusing to be upfront with information women need to make informed decisions. This is a call to action for the Public Affairs industry to bring honesty and transparency to the table – and do it yesterday, today and tomorrow.”
The survey received 202 responses from women working in the industry. Respondents had an average tenure of 6.5 years in their roles. The breakdown revealed a lack of diversity with 91% of respondents identifying as White.
The socioeconomics also revealed that the majority of female respondents are based in London (73%) and that most do not have any dependents (75%).