NEWS: PRCA 2025 UK Census Highlights Strategic Growth and Stalled DEI Progress

The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) has today published its UK PR and Communications Census 2025, providing the latest analysis of the industry’s workforce, skills and challenges. The findings reveal significant shifts in strategic capability, continued anxiety around AI adoption, and persistent inequalities across gender, ethnicity and wellbeing. 

Gender and ethnicity pay gaps widen

The Census shows that structural inequality remains a major issue:

• The gender pay gap has increased to 17%, with men earning an average of £88,257 compared with £75,141 for women.
• The ethnicity pay gap stands at 18%, with women significantly more likely than men to feel their organisation is not doing enough to address inequity. 

Professionals identify flexible working, improved parental benefits and redesigned senior roles as key levers to close these gaps.

Industry shifts toward strategy amid AI disruption

Strategy and planning has become the fastest-growing area of work (43%), overtaking traditional media relations as the sector responds to changing client expectations and emerging technologies.

Despite this, only 25% feel fully equipped for industry change, with AI and automation cited as the leading area where members want further PRCA guidance. 

DEI progress stalls as wellbeing gaps grow

Workforce demographics reveal a 53% female and 47% male split, with 22% identifying as non-white. However:

• 21% of organisations collect no diversity data, limiting progress on DEI.
• Wellbeing disparities are stark: 80% of men rate their mental health at work as good or very good, compared with 58% of women. 

Hybrid work remains the dominant model, with women far more likely to prefer mostly remote arrangements.

Other key findings: 

Beyond pay gaps, strategic shifts and wellbeing disparities, the Census highlights several further developments reshaping the UK PR and communications landscape:

• Industry becomes more highly qualified: The sector continues to upskill, with 35% holding a master’s degree and 8% a PhD, and a strong correlation between academic attainment and higher earnings, as shown in the salary analysis on page 6 of the report 
• Evaluation methods evolve: Despite industry criticism, 37% still use AVEs, while more advanced approaches such as the Integrated Evaluation Framework (38%) and Barcelona Principles 3.0 (24%) are gaining traction
• Social mobility shows signs of improvement: 57% of practitioners come from families where parents did not attend university, indicating a gradual broadening of entry routes into the profession
• Trust in the PR industry trends upward: Two-thirds (66%) believe the public sees the industry as trustworthy, and more practitioners think trust is improving (33%) than declining (20%) (page 10)

PRCA CEO Sarah Waddington CBE said:

“This year’s Census sends a clear message: our industry is becoming more strategic, more skilled, and more essential, but we cannot ignore the widening inequalities that hold too many people back. The rise of AI offers extraordinary opportunity, yet many practitioners feel unprepared for the scale of change ahead. The PRCA is committed to giving our industry the confidence, competence and ethical foundations it needs to thrive. Addressing pay gaps, supporting wellbeing, and ensuring fair access to opportunity are not optional, they’re fundamental to building a stronger, more resilient profession.”

Written by: Editor