Working towards gender equality in the workplace
As a leading employer, we take our responsibilities seriously – not just in terms of our commitment to building an inclusive organisation where our colleagues know they’re valued, respected and feel a sense of belonging, but also as an employer setting the standards for others to follow and driving positive change across society.
A key part of this ambition is our commitment to achieving gender equality and supporting women’s career development. We’re proud that our efforts have recently been recognised, having been named in the Women in Work 100 List.
The Women in Work 100 List names employers who meet standards for women’s board representation, a gender pay gap of less than 15% and transparent and publicly available parental leave policies.
Helen Bradbury, Chief People Officer at E.ON UK, said: “At E.ON, we’re proud to be one of the UK’s most inclusive employers and for us this means supporting and enabling all of our colleagues to thrive.
“We’ve taken many steps over the years to improve the support we offer women throughout their working lives, from development opportunities and flexible working to offering support through fertility journeys and the menopause.
“I’m so proud that our efforts to improve gender equality at E.ON have been recognised in this year’s Women in Work 100 List. We’re committed to targeting and reducing the barriers that prevent women from having a successful and rewarding career and this recognition celebrates the fantastic progress we’ve made so far.”
We’re proud to be recognised as an employer making progress towards gender equity and are committed to supporting women’s careers and development. Here are just some of the policies and initiatives we’ve introduced as we work towards gender equality.
Support when starting and raising a family
We’re breaking down gendered barriers around childcare and promoting equality in the workplace. All our policies and benefits recognise modern families and the different experiences we all have becoming and raising a family.
We’re working to improve gender equality and provide 18 weeks equal leave for both parents regardless of gender and biological relationship to the child – and over 200 new dads have already taken up this benefit to spend time with and support their new and growing families.
We understand that starting a family looks different for everyone and it’s not always an easy journey. We’ve introduced a range of fertility focused policies, including unlimited paid fertility leave for both partners, a training package for managers and a guide to fertility journeys including a support plan. Our colleague-led network, Fertility Friends, supports colleagues going through their fertility journey, helping to ease some of the pressure this journey brings.
We’ve also introduced four weeks paid neo-natal leave and two weeks paid leave for pregnancy loss and have refined our adoption leave to provide clearer guidance and support for colleagues.
Flexible working from day one
Flexible working is central to how we work, right from applying for a role. All our roles are advertised as flexible, and everyone can request flexible working from their first day with us too.
Our flexible working principles give colleagues choice and autonomy, supporting the different demands for those juggling family commitments, study, and daily life responsibilities and help remove the structural barriers that can limit career progression for women.
Over 1,000 of our colleagues work part-time and since introducing our flexible working principles, overall career mobility has improved for these colleagues: improving from 10% lower than full-time colleagues in 2022 to just 3% lower in 2023. Job sharing is now commonplace across our business with eight job shares in our middle management and leadership teams.
Encouraging and enabling career development for women
We recognise and acknowledge the different experience and needs of women when building and advancing in their careers. Our colleague-led network, Fast Forward, is focused on improving gender equality, driving inclusion and supporting women’s career development.
We provide bespoke development for women through our Women in Leadership programme which aims to help women to develop, grow, network, progress and build confidence. In fact, since launching Women in Leadership in 2022, over 250 women have completed the programme and over 50% of them have had a lateral career move or promotion since completing.
Our Fast Forward network also provides ongoing opportunities to get involved through listening circles, curated learning paths, creating our own original content with podcasts and support for key barriers such as limiting beliefs.
Menopause Matters
We’re committed to supporting women throughout their entire working life. Our Menopause Matters Network plays a vital role in fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace for colleagues who are navigating menopause, and the people around them who want to help.
By providing a safe space for colleagues to share their experiences, access resources, and receive support, Menopause Matters ensures the menopause is openly discussed and understood across the organisation. The colleague-led network not only empowers those directly affected but also educates managers and colleagues, promoting a broader understanding of how the menopause impacts everyone.
Our menopause community have made great strides in breaking the taboo around the menopause. In a recent survey, over 60% of respondents stated that they feel E.ON is committed to supporting colleagues through the menopause.
What’s next?
We’re committed to having no meaningful gender pay gap, our mean is currently at 13.1%, and increasing the number of women in our leadership roles to 50% by 2025. We’re always looking for new initiatives and polices that can support women’s careers and development and frequently ask our colleagues for feedback on where we can improve.
We recently identified a lack of support for people who menstruate and a lack of understanding around the difficulties faced by our colleagues who have conditions such as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).
To address this, we’re bringing together members of our gender equality, fertility, menopause and disability networks to listen to these collective experiences. The goal is to understand what support is missing and figure out how we can better support our colleagues.
Note on inclusive language: Although we refer to women throughout this article, we include within this all non-binary and trans colleagues. All our networks and development opportunities are available to all colleagues.