Network Rail has been featured in The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality for the third year running following its ongoing work to deal with gender inequalities in the workplace. The list marks the country’s most relevant and well-established listing of employers who work towards supporting gender equality across all levels in their workplace.

Sadly, gender inequalities are still common in the UK workplace today and at this time of financial disorder, including the cost-of-living crisis and following the pandemic, however, progress is being made.

Michelle Handforth, Network Rail‘s Wales & Western regional managing director and sponsor for the Gender Matters programme, said:

“We are thrilled to have been named in the Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality for a third consecutive year. It’s a reflection of the tremendous amount of work we’re doing to create a truly inclusive and diverse workplace for all of our employees, where everyone feels respected, valued, and recognised for their contribution to our organisation.”

“We’re making great progress, as our inclusion in the Top 50 testifies, and we’re determined to continue on this path so we can encourage more women to thrive at Network Rail.”

Network Rail’s Gender Matters programme has followed several steps in order to increase gender diversity in its workplace and over 2021 and 2022 have seen:

• Setting gender diversity in leadership targets – leadership positions have now increased to see female representation grow from 28.3% in 2021 to 31.2% in 2023.
• Introducing targets on female representation in senior leadership roles – this area has seen female representation grow from 25.16% in 2021 to 26.17% in 2022.
• Creating greater accessibility to flexible/hybrid working alongside an upskilled HR community for flexible job design/adverts and influencing hiring managers. Making this move has seen the development of a gender-diverse workforce and has worked alongside embedding flexible working for more senior roles and has seen a route director position advertised as a job share for the first time.
• Bringing Network Rail’s Family Friendly policy up to date, including new Carers Leave which saw the introduction of five days of unpaid leave for carers to use on planned appointments.
• Supporting subjects such as menopause and menstruation in the workplace has created a more inclusive environment and has also seen Network Rail sign up for the ‘menopause pledge’ alongside providing free sanitary products.
• Updating Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to provide both unisex and female fit, utilising breathable material for those experiencing menopausal symptoms and longer tunics supporting modesty.
• Network Rail has also become a Signatory member of the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant (EDAC) being the first transport sector organisation to do so. EDAC has been created to form positive, long-term and sustainable solutions supporting women affected by abuse to join or return to the workplace by supporting the identification of employability opportunities such as workplace skills, job opportunities/experiences and mentoring.
• The organisation is also keen to celebrate and raise awareness of events and topics which affect women in minority groups, including White Ribbon Day, International Women In Engineering Day, International Transgender Day of Visibility, Lesbian Visibility Day, National Coming Out Day & Hijab Day.

The Times Top 50 has been run by Business in the Community or BITC for 13 years and 2023 saw an increase in applications greater than ever before, with a substantial number of new organisations joining the list for the first time. The list’s name has also changed from The Time Top 50 Employers for Women to support the better-represented title in order to support gender equality across the board in order to achieve equality for all. BITC is focused on supporting all genders, including those who do not identify as a gender.

Assessment criteria for 2023 applicants have seen them remove gender inequalities in the workplace by providing flexible work alongside family-friendly policies which pay and reward progression. A case study was submitted for all applicants which evaluated their practices and how this impacts gender equality.

Mary Macleod, Chief Executive at Business in the Community said:

“We know that when women succeed, the UK succeeds, enabling our communities and planet to thrive. Network Rail is one of the companies leading the way in building a culture where women can reach their full potential by showing real commitment to addressing gender inequalities in the workplace.”