The PR industry, both in India and globally, hires more women than men. Yet, women's exposure to leadership roles remains a challenge.
What do the numbers say
PRogress, the PRmoment India/MSL Survey 2022 showed that women in PR start off being paid more than men. But, once the pay scales start to rise, men not only catch up but in some of the higher leadership roles are consistently paid more than women.
Microaggressions, biased hiring practices and lack of leadership training programmes are some of the key barriers faced by women working in the Indian communications industry.
These insights are based on a survey run by WICCI Public Relations and Digital Marketing Council and PRmoment India in February-March 2024 ahead of International Women's Day.
The WICCI -PRmoment India survey for 2024 revealed that, "When it comes to board positions, 50% of women feel that the situation has improved post-COVID-19. However, a whopping 37% still think that it's difficult to assess if there has been any improvement, with 13% saying there has been no improvement in women's representation in leadership roles.
One of the survey respondents commented bluntly, "Leadership positions are dominated by men in general. They create a closed gang that bonds over smokes, sports and money discussions. There is a sense that women are not ready to discuss finances, PNL and other difficult topics."
Jyotsna Dash Nanda, co-originator, CommsAdda, AVP corporate communications, DS Group says it's important to track, "Employee well-being metrics, including burnout rates and access to mental health support. Indian women often experience high burnout due to combined work and care responsibilities.
Examples from India's Best Workplaces and the health sector demonstrate the effectiveness of inclusive policies and targeted interventions. By regularly analyzing these metrics, we can identify gaps and improve our gender diversity initiatives. However, my basic question is why this discussion is only around women’s day – it cannot be a moment-led conversation; it has to be a movement to make a change if the right intentions are there."
Women PR Founders Show the Way
While the challenges cannot be overstated, a group of women PR founders in India are showing the way to greater gender inclusion with KPIs that show real impact and action. We speak to the founders at Jajabor, Scroll Mantra, The PRactice, Teamwork Communications and Id8 Media Solutions to find out how they are ensuring gender participation in leadership.
We also speak to brand side women leaders at Singer India, DS Group and BookMyForex.com (A MakeMyTrip Group Entity) to get a sense of what corporates are doing about women participation in leadership.
Tracks Title, Compensation, Decision Making
Upasna Dash started her firm Jajabor at 26. As founder and CEO, Dash tracks the number of women in decision-making roles - positions that shape financial strategy, business growth, and client relationships - ensuring that leadership reflects ability rather than hierarchy.
Additionally, Jajabor hires beyond traditional backgrounds.
Dash explains, "We have made a conscious effort to onboard individuals restarting their careers after a hiatus - whether it’s women returning from maternity leave or professionals making a mid-life career shift. We actively track how many hires come from unconventional career paths and incentivise managers to give these candidates opportunities."
She adds, "In India, career growth is often reflected in title, financial compensation, decision-making responsibilities, and exposure to leadership roles. These are the four key metrics we track. Here, years of experience do not define career growth - contributions, ownership, and ambition do."
Standout Moment as a Women Leader
"One of the most defining moments for me was hiring a woman from a remote village in the Northeast. No woman from her community had ever left for a corporate job before, and I remember personally speaking to her parents to reassure them that she would be safe. The day she received her first salary, she was on a video call with her mother, showing her the bank account that had just been opened in her name—the first in her family & community. That’s what real impact looks like. It’s not just about what women achieve in the workplace, but about the change they take back to their communities", shares Dash.
Equal Opportunities for Equal Designations
Scroll Mantra is a women-led PR organisation, with over 80% of its staff women. The firm's entire senior leadership is also currently women.
Scroll Mantra's founder Neha Bajaj asks that even if on paper the designations of women may be at par, would they be getting the same pay and opportunities for growth?
Which is why Bajaj says that they, "Evaluate if all genders in the organisation are getting the same opportunities depending on their skillset. It also means that we ensure through regular checks if one gender is getting more opportunities than the other -only based on gender and not competency.
Second is compensation – we measure using industry standards, analysing the pay scale for our employees (all genders) vis a vis the top agencies that operate
in the same space and benchmark based on experience, designation, skill set and what value the
individual adds to the company."
Track Retention & Exit Data
At Id8 Media Solutions, the leadership at the core functions of finance, legal and HR are women-led. Tanya Swetta, co-founder and CEO, lays out the matrix for tracking women's inclusion in leadership:
1. Promotion Rates by Gender: Measuring the percentage of women promoted annually versus men.
2. Leadership Pipeline Analysis: Identifying how many women are in mid-level management roles and their progression to senior leadership.
3. Internal Mobility Index: Evaluating the rate at which women transition into leadership roles compared to their peers.
4. Fair Compensation & Pay Equity
a. Gender Pay Gap Analysis: Conducting regular salary audits to compare earnings between men and women in similar roles.
b. Salary Growth Trends: Ensuring that women’s salary growth is on par with their male counterparts.
c. Compensation Satisfaction Scores: Gathering anonymous feedback on perceptions of pay fairness and transparency.
3. Inclusive Work Environment
a. Employee Sentiment & Engagement Surveys: AI-driven sentiment analysis of employee feedback, focusing on inclusivity, respect, and psychological safety.
b. Mentorship & Sponsorship Participation: Tracking the number of women engaged in mentorship programs and leadership development initiatives.
c. Retention & Exit Data: Analyzing why employees leave and whether inclusivity or career stagnation is a factor.
In-house Programme: Leading with Impact
Nandita Lakshmanan, founder and CEO of The PRactice, says she focuses on understanding women's experiences, the approach is relationship-based rather than metrics-driven.
Adds Lakshmanan, "Many of our women employees go through the challenge of balancing career growth with social institutional milestones such as marriage, maternity, and motherhood.
"The option of flexible or part-time work (wherever possible) and mentoring through our in-house programme “Leading with Impact” has helped employees navigate these life stages.
"While employee engagement surveys like 'Great Place to Work' do give us insights on gender experiences within the firm, having candid, transparent conversations ensures that everyone feels valued and has what they need to succeed. We also have a grievance redressal machinery that encourages our colleagues to speak up if they face discrimination or harassment of any kind."
Metrics: Creativity and Business Outcomes
Nikky Gupta, co-founder and CEO at health comms specialist firm, Teamwork Communications Group says, "Innovation and creativity is a critical metric, where we measure the number of innovative ideas generated and implemented by teams led by women. We also assess the diversity of perspectives incorporated into our strategies, as studies consistently show that diverse leadership teams are more innovative and adaptable."
In terms of client satisfaction and business outcomes, "We evaluate client satisfaction scores and business results, such as revenue growth and market share, for projects managed by women leaders. This is more of a quantitative measure that demonstrates their direct contribution to organisational success", adds Gupta.
A day before IWD, Teamwork also kicked off the ‘Womanhood 365’ campaign featuring a year-long series of mentorship programs, upskilling initiatives, and dedicated sessions on mental health, beauty, nutrition, and personal development.
Metrics Transparently Reported
Amrita Pritam, head – PR & Marketing, BookMyForex.com (A MakeMyTrip Group Entity) says, "Beyond representation, our organization evaluates the impact of women in leadership by measuring their influence on key business outcomes, workplace culture, and decision-making effectiveness."
Pritam shares that metrics that should be tracked include promotion rates, parental leave utilization, return-to-work rates, and employee engagement scores to ensure policies support career growth.
She says, "True diversity is achieved when these metrics are transparently reported, linked to leadership accountability, and drive systemic change."
"We should also look at metrics such as team performance, innovation, employee engagement, and retention rates in teams led by women. We also conduct qualitative assessments through employee feedback and culture audits to understand how diverse leadership fosters inclusivity, collaboration, and a growth-oriented work environment," adds Pritam.
Alpana Sarna, head HR & Skill Development Centers at Singer India, says, "We have women holding key leadership roles within our company and we are very proud of it. At Singer, we regularly analyse compensation during hiring, promotions, and annual reviews to identify and address any gender disparities. Performance-based rewards are distributed equitably, ensuring fairness across the board.
Anonymous feedback channels, including surveys, offer women a safe and accessible platform to share experiences and suggest improvements. Internal mobility data is tracked to monitor and support the upward movement of women within the organisation."
Priya Mishra, chief talent officer, of Burson India says, " We use a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics to assess the experience of women at Burson Group India. Primarily, we rely on our employee satisfaction survey which includes specific questions related to perceptions about compensation, opportunities for advancement, feelings of inclusion within the work environment, team culture, and the availability of resources for career progression, among other factors.
We analyse the responses to identify gaps in the work environment or team dynamics and use this feedback to introduce initiatives to foster positive change for the employees. This also helps us ensure that our programs are aligned with industry standards and help promote consistent practices across the organisation. What sets us apart is our gender diversity, with a workforce that is 70% female. This was not a calculated move, but rather an organic outcome of the way the workforce has evolved. However, we realise the importance of gender diversity and follow the approach of merit-based hiring as we strive to create an inclusive environment for all employees and give them opportunities to learn, grow and thrive."
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