Women in PR, the membership organisation for senior women in PR and Communications, announced a new President and Vice-President alongside five new committee members at its AGM, held on 29th January at agency Hotwire’s offices in London.
Ginny Paton, founder of Ready or Not consultancy is stepping up to President from Vice-President, having helped lead the organisation for three years. This follows the announcement by Jo Carr, co-founder and Chief Client Officer at Hope&Glory PR, that she will be leaving her WiPR leadership role after three years at the helm. Ginny’s presidency will help provide consistency to WiPR’s operations and continue to drive forward the work already set in motion by the team.
Angela Balakrishnan, Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs at The Information Commissioners Office will take on the role of Vice-President after fulfilling previous roles in the campaigns and partnerships teams.
Over 20 applications were received for the three open committee roles, reflecting the huge appetite from the PR and Communications community to support the organisation and its ambitions, as it continues to advocate for greater diversity and numbers of women in leadership roles in the industry.
The recent appointments increase the committee to 20 in number.
Incoming committee members are:
- Campaigns & Media Team – Anna McLean, Director, Lansons | Team Farner
- Mentoring Team – Anikka Weerasinghe, Director of Communication and Engagement, House of Commons
- Partnerships Team – Jenny Pape, Head of Talent and Development, Blurred
Additionally, the committee has welcomed Bethany Pearson, Founding PR Mum and Director at Grayling, to the campaigns and media sub-team. This move is part of welcoming the PR Mums community into the Women in PR network, after the community group announced it was closing its recruitment arm. WiPR is encouraging everyone who has been part of PR Mums network to become a member with a limited-time membership discount of 15% on full membership and 10% off digital membership from 29th January until the end of February 2026. Further information on the WIPR website: https://www.womeninpr.org.uk/what-we-do/membership/.
WiPR has been a keen supporter of PR Mums’ work to connect and support thousands of brilliant parents across the industry, including feeding into its Parenting Charter resources released last year to advocate for best practice across the industry.
One of WiPR’s spotlight issues for 2026 will supporting those with caring responsibilities.
Harj Chhachhi, Finance Director from Browning Environmental Communications, has also recently joined the committee, stepping into the role of Treasurer. She will replace departing Treasurer, Deepa Shah in this specialist role.
At the well-attended meeting, WIPR also unveiled other issues it will be focusing on in the year ahead. In addition to carers, the network will continue to address ageism in the industry. This follows the success of last year’s 40-over-40 Power List which gave a much-needed platform to brilliant female talent in mid-life to show the value of experience and challenge bias.
Members also heard more about WiPR’s first campaign of the year – a collaboration with People Like Us – to delve into how intersectionality, particularly ethnicity and geographic location, can impact women’s progression.
These campaigns will be rooted in WiPR’s strategic approach which embeds collaboration, courage and compassion across every aspect of the organisation’s work.
Outgoing President, Jo Carr and incoming President Ginny Paton reflected on a year where the organisation had driven forward its mission amidst a rollback on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In the last 12 months, the network has modernised its membership tariff, launching a digital offer to stay accessible for women who may not be able to attend all in-person events; expanded the committee to make it more reflective of the community it serves; delivered its most diverse cohort of mentors and mentees; grown its social community by 40% to 26,000 and taken WiPR on the road with more regional events.
Ginny Paton, incoming President said: “Over the past year, we’ve seen a worrying rollback in the language – and sometimes the commitments – to DEI. WiPR is here to reject that. We’re here to progress. I’m stepping into the President role determined to build on the brilliant work already underway and to keep championing women’s leadership in all its diversity – with courage and compassion, and through collaboration and practical action.
“The committee is the most phenomenal collection of boss women who volunteer their time because they want the industry to be better than when they joined it. All their work has created a stronger, more connected network and membership. And there is a clear sense of what needs to change next. We go into the year with a defined purpose and a full slate of what we will be delivering in 2026. Exciting times.
“And of course, I want to thank Jo for being an outstanding President. The progress we’ve made in the last three years owes a great deal to Jo’s leadership. Jo leaves a fabulous legacy and I’m proud to build on these foundations. The whole committee will miss her personally and professional, but no one more than me.”
Outgoing committee members were also thanked for their valuable contribution over previous years – Lindsay Landi, Head of Brand and Communications at Good Energy; Baljit Gill, founder and CEO of Serani Communications; and Deepa Shah, Chief Financial and Operations Officer at Common Interest.
