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Annual EDI Progress Report 2024
This report outlines our EDI progress and achievements in the first year since we published our EDI Strategy, covering October 2023 to October 2024. As the first and only professional body to achieve the National Equality Standard (NES), we've demonstrated leadership in embedding EDI principles throughout our organisation; expanding our learning resources, publishing new research, and supporting initiatives that break down barriers to entry and progression throughout public relations.
The reporting period has seen progress across many areas: from the completion and success of our five-part EDI guide series to over 1,100 members accessing our EDI on-demand training. We've spent the year spotlighting the industry's diversity challenges while providing new tools, resources, and pathways to support PR practitioners from all backgrounds and at any stage in their professional journey to thrive in their careers in PR.
Through our EDI Strategy's four key pillars, outlined below, we're committed to building a more inclusive profession that better represents the communities we serve. Select any pillar from the menu below to explore our work:
Ensuring CIPR members and the wider PR community have timely access to the most up-to-date EDI resources to take forward their professional practice.
Providing up-to-date and relevant learning resources
Expanding our on-demand EDI learning offer
In May, we significantly expanded our EDI learning offer with three new on-demand training modules, free for CIPR members. Our comprehensive suite of on-demand training now offers six 'Mix & Match' modules, allowing PR practitioners to create personalised learning pathways covering essential topics from inclusive communications to allyship and advocacy.
Making these modules free to members while offering affordable access to non-members ensures vital EDI education is accessible across the profession. The bite-sized, flexible format enables practitioners to develop and grow their EDI competencies alongside existing commitments.
- Over 1,100 members have enrolled in our EDI on-demand training so far
- The most popular modules are (1) Inclusive Language, (2) Inclusive Comms, and (3) Bias in Decision-Making
New EDI guides to support inclusive practice
Our Diversity and Inclusion Network strengthened its practical resources with the release of two final guides in our five-part EDI essentials series. The Inclusive Events guide, released in October 2023, provides a comprehensive checklist to ensure EDI is considered at every stage of event planning, from selecting accessible venues to ensuring diverse speaker representation and providing appropriate accommodations for all attendees.
Our Disability Allyship and Advocacy guide, published in July 2024, completes the series, offering practical strategies to help PR professionals support colleagues and drive meaningful change in the workplace. Together with our existing resources on EDI basics, inclusive language, and communications, these free guides form a holistic toolkit for practitioners committed to creating a more equitable and inclusive profession.
- During the reporting period, our EDI guides were downloaded over 4,500 times
- The Inclusive Communications guide received nearly half of the total engagement, followed closely by our EDI Basics and Inclusive Events guide
Supporting socio-economic diversity with practical resources
In February 2024, a CIPR Research Fund study by Caitlin Plunkett-Reilly Chart.PR, MCIPR examined the experiences of PR practitioners from lower socio-economic backgrounds, leading to the development of two focused toolkits to support positive change.
The toolkit for practitioners provides guidance on navigating recruitment, mentoring, and networking opportunities, while the employer toolkit offers strategies for measuring social mobility and implementing inclusive recruitment practices. The research highlighted both the strengths practitioners from lower socio-economic backgrounds bring to the profession - particularly in understanding diverse communities - and the barriers they face, including financial constraints and career progression challenges.
Download the toolkit for employers
Download the toolkit for practitioners
Promoting our resources to the PR community and those not represented in membership
As part of our commitment to advancing EDI across the profession, we made key resources available to all PR practitioners, regardless of membership status. Our suite of EDI guides, covering topics from inclusive events to disability allyship, is freely available to download, helping to embed good practice throughout the industry.
Our on-demand training platform offers flexible, bite-sized EDI learning modules that practitioners can access anytime, anywhere. With individual modules available to non-members at £20 and bundle discounts available, we've created an accessible pathway for all practitioners to develop their EDI competency at their own pace. This approach ensures that financial or time constraints don't prevent practitioners from accessing essential EDI professional development.
Creating a streamlined professional development pathway focused on Chartered PR Practitioner status.
Seeking to provide equitable access to professional development and progression for underrepresented groups
Increasing earning potential through training
Our continued support of the not-for-profit PR school Socially Mobile (CIC) helps remove financial obstacles to professional development for practitioners from underrepresented backgrounds. The ten-week online leadership programme offers fully funded places for practitioners from lower socio-economic backgrounds and other under-served groups and provides essential management training and business skills.
This accessible approach to leadership development ensures that financial constraints don't prevent talented practitioners from advancing their careers, whether through accessing management roles, returning to work, or starting their own PR businesses.
- 88% of graduates report the programme positively impacted their career
- 16% of graduates were promoted
- 28% moved on to new or better jobs
- 20% received a salary increase
Encouraging entry of underrepresented groups onto the pathway
Making paths into PR more accessible: The Careers in PR Hub
To address industry-wide skills shortages, in October 2024, we launched our new Careers in PR Hub, providing clear pathways into the profession. This free online platform makes essential career information accessible through practical resources, real-world case studies, and guidance on professional development.
The Hub serves both individual and industry needs: whilst supporting aspiring practitioners with practical tools for entering the profession, it also helps organisations tackle recruitment challenges by providing structured onboarding resources. By removing barriers to information and professional development, the Hub aims to create more inclusive pathways into PR and support the development of a more diverse, skilled workforce.
Removing financial barriers to membership
We maintain our commitment to making CIPR membership accessible through reduced rate student membership at £38 and a staggered payment plan to help students manage the transition to full membership. This structured approach helps remove financial barriers for those looking to start or advance their PR careers. We also provide financial support and automatic CIPR membership enrolment to participants in key industry programmes including the Taylor Bennett Foundation, Socially Mobile, I Have a Voice, and BME PR Pros.
By encouraging diverse practitioners to enter and progress in public relations through these partnerships, we aim to inspire others from similar backgrounds to see PR as a viable career path and join the profession. These initiatives complement the Careers Hub in creating multiple entry points and support systems for underrepresented groups entering PR.
To create the best and most valuable community that practitioners will want to be a part of and contribute to.
Understanding the diversity of the current community, meeting its needs, and seeking its contributions
EDI challenges in the PR industry - State of the Profession 2024
With over 2,000 PR practitioners sharing their experiences in this year's State of the Profession survey, we gained valuable insights into the diverse makeup and challenges of our community. This strong response rate has helped us better understand the varied experiences of practitioners across different backgrounds, particularly highlighting important disparities in professional development opportunities.
The research reveals concerning inequities in how different groups access career support: while 81% of White practitioners received job-related training last year, only 74% of practitioners from other ethnic backgrounds did so, with nearly half having training requests rejected. These findings are crucial in helping us understand where our community needs additional support and will directly inform our initiatives to ensure all practitioners can access the resources they need to thrive in their careers.
Multi-sector research reveals need for systemic change - Beyond buzzwords
Research conducted by The Young Foundation on behalf of 12 professional bodies including the CIPR revealed the scale of EDI challenges across multiple sectors. The 'Beyond Buzzwords' report found that 73% of respondents experienced barriers to career progression and that access and entry routes into many professions remain challenging to people from minority backgrounds. Obstacles related to affordability of qualifications, accessibility issues, and a lack of representative role models came up repeatedly in the research.
Embedding EDI in our governance and groups
We have taken steps to integrate EDI throughout our governance and volunteer structure. Our recent governance review implemented a dedicated nominations committee that ensures our Board is representative of the diversity of our membership and profession. Our volunteer recruitment actively champions diverse perspectives, with focused outreach to broaden participation.
Each CIPR group has appointed an EDI champion who collaborates with peers to share best practice and has completed a SWOT analysis to understand their priority areas. Groups can access EDI dashboards to help them make informed decisions about their membership makeup and future events. Every volunteer group is committed to one EDI initiative per year, and each group has an EDI champion who meet regularly to discuss best practice around inclusion, accessibility, and diversity.
We hold EDI professional development sessions for chairs and champions and enrol all volunteers and staff on our EDI on-demand training.
Understanding and Supporting Mental Health in PR
Our 2024 Mental Health Audit, conducted in partnership with the PRCA, reveals both progress and ongoing challenges in supporting practitioners' wellbeing. The research shows that while more professionals are comfortable discussing mental health at work - with 60% having disclosed struggles to colleagues, up from 51% last year - the prevalence of poor mental health remains significantly higher than the wider UK workforce.
The findings highlight persistent challenges around workload and stress, with 58% citing overwhelming workload as a key source of workplace stress. While hybrid working has brought benefits, with 81% reporting improved work-life balance, 9 in 10 PR professionals in the UK still report experiencing poor mental health. These insights will inform targeted initiatives to address workload management and create more supportive workplace cultures.
Monitoring the CIPR community's diversity
To better understand and serve our diverse membership, we actively monitor the demographic makeup of our community through optional and confidential data collection. This vital information helps us assess how effectively we're representing all practitioners and helps us to shape more inclusive services and initiatives.
Over 1,200 CIPR members have completed their diversity profiles to-date.
Identifying challenges to entry to the profession for diverse practitioners
Taylor Bennett Foundation and the Reverse Mentoring Scheme
Our award-winning Reverse Mentoring Scheme with the Taylor Bennett Foundation entered its third year, pairing senior industry leaders with PR professionals from Black, Asian, and ethnic minority backgrounds. This innovative approach provides direct access to leadership insights while ensuring senior decision-makers better understand the barriers facing practitioners from underrepresented groups.
The 2024 cohort connected 13 senior leaders from major agencies and in-house teams with experienced practitioners who can share first-hand perspectives on EDI challenges.
Understanding gender and diversity challenges in the profession - PR Population Report
In February 2024, we published our PR Population Report, an analysis of data from the ONS 2021 Census which revealed significant disparities in the PR profession's demographic makeup. The findings show a concerning pattern: while women comprise 60% of practitioners, they hold only 46% of director-level positions. More troubling still, 50% of women in PR are under 35, compared to 36% of men, suggesting many female practitioners face barriers to progression that force them out of the profession prematurely, resulting in a critical loss of expertise and diversity at senior levels. The report also highlights broader diversity challenges, with 87% of practitioners being from White backgrounds, increasing to 90% at director level. This comprehensive data, covering 63,563 practitioners in England and Wales, reinforces the urgent need to invest in women's career progression and create more inclusive workplaces.
The data played an important role in our campaign for International Women’s Day 2024, where we addressed the significant gender disparities in seniority through a piece titled “PR’s Disappearing Women.” In alignment with the UN's call to invest in women, our post garnered nearly 20,000 impressions on LinkedIn, successfully shining a light on this pressing industry issue.
CIPR and PR Mums - Developing industry standards for parental support
Following our PR Population Report's findings that women are being disproportionately lost from the profession, we supported action to address this systemic challenge. We joined PR Mums’ pan-industry steering group to develop a best-practice charter for parental leave policies that aims to better support female practitioners and parents at crucial career stages.
This collaborative initiative will establish industry-wide standards and a best-practice charter for parental support. Through extensive research and consultation, the charter will address key challenges around flexible working, career progression, and workplace culture to help retain valuable talent and expertise within the profession.
To create a better understanding of the standards and services that public relations professionals can offer.
Emphasising how higher EDI standards can deliver superior performance for business and fairer outcomes for all
Making the business case for EDI in PR
Our State of the Profession 2024 report revealed a critical disconnect between organisations' talent needs and their investment in diverse talent development. Whilst 74% of in-house teams and 60% of agencies report significant skills shortages, our data showed concerning disparities in how different groups access professional development.
The research found practitioners from White backgrounds are significantly more likely to receive training opportunities than their peers from other ethnic backgrounds. White practitioners are more likely to have their training needs discussed with managers (42% compared to 21% for practitioners from ethnic minority backgrounds) and less likely to have training requests rejected (36% compared to 47%).
These findings present a clear business imperative: organisations cannot address their skills gaps whilst underinvesting in diverse talent. Addressing these systemic inequities in professional development isn't just an ethical imperative – it's essential for building the skilled, adaptable workforce needed to thrive in today's complex communications landscape.
Embedding sound EDI principles into the standards and services expected of PR professionals
Leading by example
The CIPR has a duty to lead by example, especially when it comes to EDI practices. We want to ensure our membership is representative and provides an inclusive space for everyone working in public relations. Having secured the National Equalities Standard accreditation, we published our first EDI Strategy outlining our plans and commitment to drive change.
Since publishing the strategy, we have developed new recruitment guidance for managers and staff emphasising an inclusive approach to reduce bias and ensure a diverse candidate pool, updated our governance process and set up a new nominations committee with the specific mandate to consider EDI factors when recommending members to Council, actively advertised volunteer opportunities to under-represented groups, and supported partners in the EDI space with their work.
Fostering leadership to drive systemic change
In partnership with the BME PR Pros, we supported The Xec. Leadership Scheme's third cohort of Black, Asian, Mixed Race and Ethnic Minority PR professionals in their journey to senior leadership positions. This initiative aims to transform industry leadership standards through increased boardroom diversity. Seven successful candidates received comprehensive support including CIPR membership, awards judging experience, mentoring, and practical leadership development opportunities. By cultivating the next generation of BME leaders, we're embedding inclusion at decision-making levels and building towards boardrooms that better reflect the diversity of our profession.
Promoting entry to public relations as a professional career to diverse and underrepresented groups
Breaking down barriers to careers in PR - Iprovision 75 Fund
Created to celebrate the Institute's 75th anniversary, the Iprovision 75 Fund allocated £75,000 to support individuals from financially or socially disadvantaged backgrounds to enter or advance in public relations. The Fund provided direct grants for PR qualifications, training courses, and CIPR membership to 60 successful applicants, demonstrating significant impact in promoting diversity and social mobility in the profession.
The initiative directed more than £60,000 toward supporting non-members to enter the profession, with nearly £13,000 helping existing CIPR members advance their careers. This targeted approach to breaking down economic barriers has now evolved into the Iprovision Education and Career Development Fund, ensuring continued support for building a more diverse and inclusive PR community.
Supporting diverse talent with I Have a Voice (IHAV)
Our partnership with I Have a Voice (IHAV) continues to create meaningful pathways into public relations for underrepresented groups. The 2024 mentoring scheme has matched over 140 aspiring practitioners with PR professionals who provide one-to-one support throughout the academic year. This represents significant growth from last year's cohort of 100 mentees, of whom 69 went on to secure either internships, full-time roles, or places on relevant educational programmes. Our ongoing support enables IHAV to expand representation further, focusing on disability inclusion and geographic diversity.
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