This year was the most competitive in the list’s history, BITC said, with the highest number of applicant organisations.
The Times Top 50 Employers for Women is run every year by the charity Business in the Community (BITC) in conjunction with The Times newspaper.
Entrants are assessed on what they are doing to remove the drivers that enforce gender inequality. This year BITC included a further appraisal of the lived experience of women employees to examine the translation between policy and practice, it said.
Wates introduced new ‘family friendly’ policies in 2020, including enhanced paternity/partner leave, increased maternity leave and carer leave. When it launched Flexible Working principles last June, Wates became one of the first construction companies to encourage flexible working in every role and at every level across the business.
Wates inclusion and diversity director Nikunj Upadhyay said: “Being a Times Top 50 employer is a strong endorsement of our Inclusion and Diversity efforts. We believe that the best places to work are those that promote a culture that includes everyone. This not only creates opportunities for individuals, but also enables the business to succeed in the future as a result of benefitting from greater diversity of talent, skills, and experience.
“We are only at the start of our journey. This recognition strengthens our commitment to drive positive action both within our business and the built environment sector more broadly.”
Willmott Dixon has appeared on this list for four years on the trot now. The company has an aspiration to achieve gender parity across all levels of the business by 2030.
Chief executive Rick Willmott said: “I believe an inclusive and balanced business leads to better outcomes for our customers alongside making us a great place to work, where our people feel challenged, content and able to make a difference.
“It is important that contractors are featured in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2022 list as it shines a spotlight on construction as a great industry to work in, which is vital if we are to encourage more women to choose our sector as a place where they can enjoy a rewarding career.”
While Wates and Willmott Dixon are both family-owned private companies, the third construction company in the list, consulting engineer Jacobs UK, is owned by an American corporation.
“We are proud of the actionable and measurable gender goals we have put in place to increase representation of intersectional female talent in senior level positions,” Jacobs UK said. “In addition, our average gender pay gap has reduced for a fourth consecutive year, reflecting the growing momentum to progress female talent and advance gender equity.”
Other companies on the list this year were Network Rail and National Grid.
After three rounds of blind assessment, there was a tie for the 50th place so there were actually 51 organisations included on this year’s list. They are:
- Accenture
- Addleshaw Goddard LLP
- Allen & Overy
- Anglo American
- Atos IT Services UK
- Aviva
- AXA UK
- Bain & Company
- Burges Salmon LLP
- Capgemini UK
- Centrica PLC
- CityFibre
- CMS
- Deloitte
- Department for Work & Pensions
- Deutsche Bank
- DWF
- Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- Eversheds Sutherland
- Fidelity International
- Financial Conduct Authority
- Fujitsu
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Goldman Sachs International
- Grant Thornton UK LLP
- Hachette UK
- J.P. Morgan
- Jacobs U.K Ltd
- Kellogg's
- KPMG UK LLP
- Linklaters LLP
- Lloyds Banking Group
- MI5
- National Grid
- NatWest Group
- Network Rail
- Norton Rose Fulbright
- Ofcom
- PepsiCo UK & Ireland
- PwC LLP
- Sainsbury's
- Santander UK
- Shell UK
- Tesco Stores
- TSB
- Vodafone UK
- Wates Group
- Willmott Dixon
- Worldline IT Services UK
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