Women in corporate communications are receiving more promotions than men, despite the industry's gender pay gap remaining above national average.

The number of women in corporate communications being promoted has surpassed men for the first time in at least 15 years, as women make more demands in the workplace.

In the past year, 19 per cent of women in corporate communications have received promotions, compared to 17 per cent of men, according to an annual report by The Works Search, a PR and corporate communications consultancy. This is the first time that women’s promotions have surpassed men’s since the report’s launch, 15 years ago.

This comes as a separate, global study by the International Workplace Group (IWG) has found that 53 per cent of women identify flexible working as enabling them to ask for a promotion, and two-thirds claim it has “opened up new opportunities at work”. For women from minority groups, this figure increases to three-quarters. Sarah Leembruggen, managing director at The Works Search, notes that while women are beginning to find their voice, the industry's gender pay gap currently stands at 11 per cent, far surpassing the national average of 7.7 per cent. “With painfully slow progress being made on closing the gender pay gap, it’s encouraging to come across this silver lining and see that women are perhaps starting to speak up and ask for that sought-after promotion,” she said.

“Every company should have the ultimate ambition of creating a happy, inclusive and inspiring workplace where both men and women feel they belong. This means listening to employees’ views, getting clear on what they expect from their job and respecting their values.

“This must be done alongside providing your people with financially secure, flexible and supportive employment.”