Today we celebrate International Women’s Day, a time to reflect on gender equality and to recognise & celebrate the progress we have made. It is also a time to focus on current and future challenges and how, together, we can overcome the difficulties that have so far prevented us from achieving this goal.
CPC is proud to be one of the first companies to sign both the Railway Industry Association (RIA) and Women in Rail (WiR) Charter, to champion equality, diversity and inclusion in the UK railway industry, and more recently pledging our commitment to “Inspiring Women in Construction”. CPC’s newly formed NEDI (Network for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion) brings together CPC colleagues from all genders and backgrounds to help implement the targets set for the next 3 – 5 years; to challenge any bias and behaviours and to promote a more gender equal workforce.
The introduction of our Agile Working Policy and a review of recruitment practises, has contributed to 27% of new recruits in the last year being female, (10% above industry average); and an increase on 11% on last year. Our focus for the year ahead is to build on this both within CPC and industry, by supporting like minded organisations, such as Young Woman’s Trust to support a more equitable workplace for future generations.
This year’s theme “Break the Bias” is not just about a day. Its about what each of us do, each day on our journey to achieve gender equality. We will share more about our journey to achieving a more diverse workforce at CPC throughout this year.
