A new report has highlighted PR’s growing gender divide, as one respondent admitted that she was deemed “too attractive” to be hired for a role and wouldn’t be taken seriously.

Break The Silence, which surveyed 1,000 male (31%) and female (69%) PR professionals at a range of levels, found that 63% of women reported unfair treatment because of gender, compared to 19% of men.

Additionally, the report found that 75% of women said parenthood harmed their career, compared to 25% of men.

The initiative— aided pro bono by leaders at PR agencies including Resonance, 72Point, Sidekick PR, Woodrow Communications and Launch PR, supported by Smoking Gun — also found that the PR industry is crying out for male allyship, as 90% of respondents said senior men modelling gender equality would improve workplace culture.

Natasha Plowman of Spinning Red Consultancy said: “Many men want to help, but feel paralysed by fear of saying the wrong thing. Our data shows the solution is simple: listen, learn, act and stop outsourcing the emotional labour to women.”

During its launch, sponsored by 72Point, various roundtable discussions called upon male leaders to model allyship through mentoring responsibilities, and role-modelling visible caregiving behaviour such as taking parental leave.

Shayoni Lynn, CEO of Lynn and founder of Break The Silence said: “We’re no longer asking men to be allies, we’re demanding they show up with policies, transparency and action. This isn’t a one-day campaign. It’s the start of a movement. And we are holding this industry accountable.”