Wages for women in PR are ‘lagging behind’, data finds

New data collated by Agency by Agency, in partnership with consultant Lynda Harvey, has found that on average, women in the UK PR sector earn just 83p per hour while male counterparts earn £1.

Having mapped the agency sector, the research looks at gender pay gaps in PR based on submissions of agencies large enough to have to submit pay gap data, which totals 74 agencies.

The research also notes that while the agencies only make up 0.3% of all agencies mapped, they still employ 20% of the agency workforce. The research suggested that this means one in five agency employees are working under the above pay gap conditions.

The mapping also revealed that women are “more likely” to hold lower paid jobs in agencies, as men currently hold the majority of higher paid positions. In the lowest pay quarter, 57% of roles on average across the agencies mapped are held by women, compared to 43% men.

In looking at the averages for the highest paying jobs, 61% of these roles are held by men compared to 39% by women.

Harvey commented: “When you compare to national averages, the agency sector’s gender pay gap stands out for all the wrong reasons. The mean average gender pay gap across the UK is 14.3% (ONS, 2025), but in this report the agency sector’s mean gap is 17%. To put that into perspective, if a man earns £40,000 a year, a woman is earning £33,200 – a difference of £6,800 every year.

“One of the main reasons for this gap is the distribution of roles. Women are underrepresented in higher paid or leadership positions, but they are overrepresented in the lowest paid roles. This is likely to be further exacerbated by a higher proportion of women in part-time roles. Although we don’t have a sector-specific figure, nationally, women account for at least 70% of all part-time employees.”

Harvey added: “Whichever way you look at it, the agency sector is lagging behind the national picture.”