WiPA’s Pay and Progression Toolkit
Welcome to our Pay and Progression Toolkit.
The purpose of this toolkit is to help dispel gender-based disparities in the public affairs sector by equipping our members and their employers with the tools they need to address this.
We will be publishing a number of guides for employees and employers on key subjects to support women’s pay and progression.
The first Pay Negotiation Guide is out now, to support our members in navigating salary discussions, whether you’re stepping into a new role or eyeing a well-deserved promotion.
It provides practical advice to equip women with the tools to evidence their value and take on challenging pay negotiations with confidence.
Source: WiPA 2023 Annual Survey Results
Our 2023 member survey
As a mission-led network, we are campaigning for pay and progression transparency, putting member feedback and our research findings into action to help improve the industry.
We run an annual survey, led by research agency Opinium, the 2023 results of which revealed that pay transparency is critical to nearly all women in public affairs. Almost half believed their pay has been influenced by their gender, race or age, however only 25% said their employers publish salary bands.
As a first step to address this, we are calling on more public affairs employers to publish salary bands on job ads to help women in the industry make informed decisions about their career moves.
WiPA 2023 Survey respondents on the impact of pay inequality…
“I think its important for colleagues to share with each other so that people can feel empowered to ask for fairer compensation.”
“Our employee handbook specifically bans colleagues from discussing salary. Additionally it is widely known that there are massive disparities in pay within teams for colleagues doing the same functions, making it difficult to discuss pay”
“I know my boss would be open to me negotiating my salary but it is still awkward and difficult to know when you are crossing the line or asking for too much.”
Further Resources
Harvard Kennedy School Guides