The theme of International Women’s Day this year is #BalanceForBetter – a global call to action for individuals and organizations alike to reflect and drive action when it comes creating gender balance in the workplace.

When reflecting on our own industry, it’s no secret that women dominate the field, with most estimating that women make up 60-80 percent of the public relations workforce. However, women occupy just one in five senior positions. While progress is being made, there are still steps to take to create better balance when it comes to PR and marketing leadership.

At PAN, creating equal opportunity for all employees is a paramount value, and in the last year alone, we’ve seen exciting development and growth when it comes to promoting women into leadership positions. In fact, 45 percent of PAN’s female promotions in 2018 were to management level positions, leading to a breakdown that touts nearly 70 percent of our managers as female. Furthermore, the Head of Client Relations, the Regional Managing Director and two out of our three regional office leaders are female.

With the promotion of Darlene Doyle to Executive Vice President earlier this year, PAN also now has two female members as part of the executive management team of five.

Well these are all exciting accomplishments, we acknowledge that our work is far from done. Which is why PAN is focused on creating a work environment that offers opportunity and creates balance for all employees – from increasing paid parental leave time for both mothers and partners, to dedicated career coaching, individualized training and professional development sessions.

We’re proud to celebrate our female workforce and leaders and are dedicated to continuing our journey to create a more balanced workplace that provides equal opportunity for all employees.