Sexism in the PR industry – a CEO looks back over her career
Nicole Webb is founder and CEO of The IMPACT Agency, a company she built over a quarter-century. Here, she reflects on the blatant gender bias within her industry – and what needs to be done to fix things.
When writing a piece on what I’ve learnt about running my own agency for 25 years, my mind went in many directions, but it always came back to one thing: gender.
As a young PR graduate, I received an award for young practitioner of the year. Attending the PRIA (now CPRA) awards night, I have very strong memories of the men in the room going up to the podium to accept the accolades. No women; just the men. It was the early 90s.
Gendered roadblocks make it hard to run a business
Over the course of IMPACT’s 25-year history, we’ve worked alongside some incredible men – many of whom have been terrific allies for the women they work with.
However, the hard truth is that some of my darkest days in this profession have been at the hands of men, using their power to intimidate. When you are in the relationship business (your P&L depends on the trust you build with your clients) you will do everything you can to maintain equilibrium – work unreasonable hours, work on a project for free, extend the payment terms.
I have stopped counting how many pitches we’ve attended where we have been asked if we have any males on our team. When I started the business, I never thought (perhaps naively) that clients would choose an agency based on gender. In an all-male room, we know we have lost the battle before we even start.
Nicole Webb
Industry has a long way to go
In 2023, GWPR, the global membership organisation for women in senior PR and communications roles, found that over half (55%) of those surveyed experienced harassment or inappropriate behaviour at work. The most common types of harassment being psychological (42%), power (40%), personal (31%), sexual (21%) and discriminatory (19%).
We recently hired an intern from the US. When asked “What skills or experience do I need?”, I responded with “being respectful towards women”. I’m not sure I would have singled that out 25 years ago. I did not think I would have to.
Our industry is stronger because of the women who lead it
We never set out to be a female-led business. We’ve had male staff members come and go. While we have a gender equality policy in place, it’s a hard recruit – just look at the gender imbalance in lecture theatres over the years. Communication degrees have been dominated by women who account for almost two-thirds of the workforce in PR and comms.
I’ve always been surrounded by smart, strong women – my mother being one. The list is long. Kim MacKay (now Director and CEO of the Australian Museum) was one of my first bosses.
All the women who have passed through my life, staff and client cohort included, have one thing in common: They do not accept the status quo.
For those now entering this profession, you owe a lot to women like Kieran Moore, ex-CEO of WPP AUNZ, and her now business partner in crime Katrina Brangwin, Carden Calder, Susan Redden Makatoa, Jennifer Muir, Annabelle Warren, Liz McLaughlin, Vanessa Liell, Amanda Little, Leilani Abels, EJ Granleese and, of course, Michelle Hutton, the now global chief of client and growth at Burson.
All have been absolute powerhouses in this industry.
I’m a big fan of microfeminism
The term went viral back in March when Ashley Chaney shared a reel on TikTok. It’s about the small things we can do to address the gender imbalance, like addressing invitations to Mrs + Mr Jane Smith or listing the woman’s name first on a home loan agreement.
Creating change doesn’t always require extravagant actions but starts with small, highly intentional daily gestures.
I’m buoyed by the number of Australian women athletes who stood on the podium in Paris. By the end of play, women won 13 of Australia’s 18 gold medals and 32 of the 53 medals overall.
We should all be given the opportunity to stand on the podium.
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Honest question: what is the male to female ratio in PR?
In my experience, it has always appeared to be largely led and been dominated by women (in contrast to creative agencies).
Being asked if there are any males in the team doesn’t necessarily equate to sexism. If an all male creative agency cohort were pitching, they’d either be asked the reverse of this question, or simply eliminated for lack of diversity.
Given the dominance of females in PR and the surrounding ecosystem – A client asking about gender equality seems like a perfectly reasonable question.