In marked contrast, Spear’s featured two women in its ranking of Top Ten Wealth Managers, and scores of leading female lawyers across various legal disciplines.
Yet the financial sector is notorious for its underrepresentation of women, though the legal services profession has cottoned on to the value of women in law.
Also see: Study reveals global PR gender pay gap and points finger at women's 'lack of confidence'
Perhaps the absence of Spear’s-rated women in PR results less from Spear’s own unconscious bias, but more from the conduct of female leaders in the PR industry.
I know many talented, savvy and highly commercial women who manage others’ reputations.
I don’t know if they specifically advise those of high net worth. Which reminds me of that old tease - how do you know if someone’s a vegan? They tell you.
Perhaps the reason I haven’t learned whether my contemporaries are also up to their eyes in advising the spectacularly wealthy is that my female friends haven’t felt the need to flash their big swinging handbags to say so.
They get on with the job at hand, often too self-effacingly, and hope their efforts are respected.
It would be more worrying were the rankings to imply that HNWIs prefer to seek counsel from male PRs.
Is there a level of trust, man-to-man, that may not be as prevalent between a drippingly wealthy male and a female PR?
Do the less enlightened believe girly PRs are good for some things but when the serious stuff happens, it’s time to call in the boys?
Perhaps this explains the concept of ‘hepeating’– recognisable to women who’ve had their suggestions in the boardroom ignored, only to have their male colleagues repeat their ideas, which then get endorsed!
I actually believe men and women are naturally less willing to show their vulnerabilities to the opposite sex in the work environment – the understanding of which is necessary to build the most watertight and appropriate argument in defence of reputation.
Undoubtedly, though, we women are accountable for our reticence to acknowledge our place in the higher echelons of PR.
After all, Spear’s compiled its rankings through recommendations of HNWIs and self-nomination.
Studies indicate that the biggest career hurdles women in C-suite positions face, is self-promotion and expressing our talents.
Or to put it more poignantly, women’s self-advocacy is seen as excessive in comparison to men’s.
Women who self-promote or indeed achieve recognition are less likely to be liked. The dreadful trolling of Laura Kuenssberg is a case in point.
As with any industry, there are obvious hurdles for women in PR to overcome - company culture, avoidance of work-place conflict, stigma in discussing salaries, unconscious biases and lack of transparency.
But come on girls, let’s channel our inner vegan: ditch the reticence and speak proudly of what we do, or the big jobs will forever be perceived as belonging to the boys.
Melanie Riley is a carnivore and the founding director of Bell Yard Communications
