At GCD we aim to promote a culture where every member of our team has the tools and opportunity to excel in their career.
There are many things we do to support our team, from flexible working and personal development plans to family events and extended holidays. As part of this we’ve recently signed the STEM Charter, what does that mean?
The Equality Commission, the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) and the STEM Business Group are working together to address gender imbalance in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) businesses in Northern Ireland.
The ratio of male to females employed in STEM-related industries is 3 to 1.
Having recently signed the STEM Charter and as a STEM employer, we are committed to ensuring that both men and women have equal opportunity when it comes to accessing our jobs. In particular, we recognise the need to address the current underrepresentation of women in STEM jobs.
Signing the STEM Charter highlights our commitment to ensuring that we provide equal opportunities in relation to recruitment, training, development, promotion, appraisal and with regard to all of our employment policies.
To show our commitment as a STEM employer, we are doing the following:
- Implementing an equal opportunities policy, that is regularly updated, and is supported by training, for all of our staff;
- Implementing appropriate positive action measures such as welcoming statements and personal development courses for women, where they are under-represented in certain job areas;
- Challenging stereotypical attitudes, preconceptions and prejudice that might exist in relation to women working in STEM jobs;
- Working with our female employees to benchmark the current business environment against best practice examples and to identify ways to improve its accessibility to women;
- Monitoring access to all of our policies, to ensure both women and men enjoy equality of opportunity in terms of access to employment, training, development, promotion and flexible working; and
- Utilising various measures, including staff awareness surveys and exit interviews, to help us ensure that all existing and potential female employees feel that they enjoy equality of opportunity.
We’re proud of our team and the work we do, as a STEM employer we will continue to improve the experience for existing staff and those who join us in the future.
If your interested in joining the team, take a look at our GCD careers!
