Gender Equality Plan

The GEP must be a formal document published on the institution’s website, signed by the top management and actively communicated within the institution. It should demonstrate a commitment to gender equality, set clear goals and detailed actions and measures to achieve them.

CPI have in place an ED&I strategy, policy and roadmap which shows our commitment to gender equality and provides us with an action plan against which we will measure our progress and success. In February 2022, CPI as part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, forming the broader Catapult Network, signed a public Inclusivity in Innovation Charter to demonstrate our commitment to fostering equality, diversity and inclusion in our workforce, collaborators, suppliers, the beneficiaries of our outputs and anyone else with whom we interact. View the Charter.

In addition, in early 2022 CPI took part in the Inclusive Employers Foundation Assessment to enhance our inclusion practices and provide us access to expert consultants in the field of ED&I.

A GEP must have dedicated resources and expertise in gender equality to implement the plan. Organisations should consider what type and volume of resources are required to support an ongoing process of sustainable organisational change.

CPI’s Human Resources team have several skilled practitioners that as part of their role are dedicated to ED&I initiatives across the organisation. We also have an ED&I sponsor on our Senior Leadership Team.

In addition, an ED&I working group has formed by individuals from across the organisation who come together to discuss ED&I topics, share best practice, and support and implement ED&I initiatives.

Organisations must collect sex/​gender disaggregated data on personnel (and students, for the establishments concerned) with annual reporting based on indicators. Organisations should consider how to select the most relevant indicators, how to collect and analyse the data, including resources to do so, and should ensure that data is published and monitored on an annual basis. This data should inform the GEP’s objectives and targets, indicators, and ongoing evaluation of progress.

As part of the Inclusivity in Innovation Charter, all Catapult Centre’s are required to collect, report and monitor baseline data on diversity and inclusion by the end of 2022. This data must also be published publicly against ED&I targets, CPI will be an active contributor to doing this. 

In addition, on an annual basis we report and publish our Gender Pay Gap.

The GEP must also include awareness-raising and training actions on gender equality. These activities should engage the whole organisation and be an evidence-based, ongoing and long-term process. Activities should cover unconscious gender biases training aimed at staff and decision-makers and can also include communication activities and gender equality training that focuses on specific topics or addresses specific groups.

We actively enable and encourage access for all employees to learning, development and awareness initiatives to increase understanding of the importance of ED&I across CPI. We have training packages available and rolled out to all staff on Equality and Diversity and have ED&I as a thread throughout our internal development programmes. We also regularly have a variety of guest speakers on topics such as neurodiversity, menopause, health and wellbeing which supports our commitment to being an inclusive employer. 

GEPs aim to promote gender equality through the sustainable transformation of organisational culture. Organisations should implement necessary policies to ensure an open and inclusive working environment, the visibility of women in the organisation and externally, and that the contribution of women is properly valued. Inclusive work-life balance policies and practices can also be considered in a GEP, including parental leave policies, flexible working time arrangements and support for caring responsibilities.

Our talent and succession practices are designed to enable and encourage female representation at all levels of the organisation and our succession planning is discussed and calibrated through an inclusive lens with our Senior Leadership Team. 

Organisations establishing a GEP should consider taking steps to ensure they have clear institutional policies on sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence. Policies should establish and codify the expected behaviour of employees, outline how members of the organisation can report instances of gender-based violence and how any such instances will be investigated and sanctions applied. They should also consider how information and support is provided to victims or witnesses and how the whole organisation can be mobilised to establish a culture of zero tolerance toward sexual harassment and violence.

CPI has Equality and Dignity and Safeguarding policies (including violence and sexual harassment) which are accessible to all staff and includes information on reporting and support. 

We also have e‑learning training which all colleagues are to complete on topics such as equality and diversity, safeguarding, and mental health at CPI guidance for line managers. There are additional e‑learning resources available for employees to access from ACAs on bullying and harassment; Equality, Diversity and Inclusions; and Mental Health Awareness.