What It Means to Be a Woman in Corp Comm & PR in 2026?

A Year of Reckoning — or Just Toeing the Line?

After (and while) spending a whole afternoon designing “creative” pieces to impress my tribe on Women’s Day, the mind just kept circling back to one thought. And that was – year after year we celebrate this one day so special for women by announcing special & limited offers. But do we really need this? Can we as women leaders step back and break the pattern, maybe design something interesting for another day? Or even create something unique that will spotlight impact!

Yeah! Goal for another 365 rotations of the planet, probably.

Long ago, I used to think getting a seat at the table was the goal. Now I sit at that table and watch the same tired narratives get packaged, polished, and pushed out — by women, about women, for a world that still refuses to take them seriously. And somewhere between the ’empowerment’ campaigns and the off-the-record whispers about who’s “too aggressive” in meetings, I’ve started to wonder: are we in Corporate Communications and PR actually changing the story, or just telling it better? (or just being polite?).

The year of 2026 should feel like progress. A lot of women lead the most influential comms and PR teams in the world. We curate pieces for the press. We design the narratives. We are, quite literally, the voice of our organizations that shape public perception. And yet — the same women setting brand tone are often the ones being talked over in strategy rooms, handed the “soft” portfolios, or quietly passed over for the P&L roles that actually mean power. The irony is not lost on me. Never.

Our industry loves a good Women’s Day post. We are experts at them (literally written one every year). We know the right hashtags, the authentic tone, the balance between celebrating progress and acknowledging gaps and the offers that hit bullseye. But ask yourself: how many of those posts were approved by a room full of men? How many were quietly edited to be “less divisive”? How many of us softened our own instincts to get them through?

That’s the missing puzzle piece of 2026. We have increased visibility, incredible vocabulary, and innumerable platforms than any generation of women before us — and we are still managing perception instead of demanding transformation. There’s a difference between a woman who leads comms and a comms function that is led by women. One is a title. The other is a culture.

So, here’s what I know, at whatever age I am now — young enough to still be idealistic, old enough to be furious. This year is only a reckoning if we make it one. Not with a campaign. Or for that matter a brilliant carousel post. But by refusing to clean up the language when the truth is inconvenient. Most importantly, by mentoring the woman behind us and challenging the system in front of us. Could we please utilise the very skills we’ve spent our careers building — storytelling, influence, strategy — not just for brands, but for ourselves.

We worked a lot to sharpen our craft. And be the best, in whichever we room we moved. Now let the art & science of that craft say something.

– Pooja Trehann,
Head – Communications & Content
Jio World Centre