Employers that are great for women

Three of our members, Sky, Barclays and Atkins have featured in Glassdoor’s 13 Employers That Are Great For Working Women! See the full list and what current and past employees have to say about working for these companies below.

The 8th of March was International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. So, what better way to celebrate the day than to highlight companies that stand out for being great for women in the workplace. All of these employers go above and beyond in some way when it comes to providing a working environment in which women can thrive.

UKFast

Who They Are: Manchester-based provider of hosting, servers and cloud computing.

Why They Are Great for Women: 16 weeks paid maternity leave and on-site creche

What Employees Say: “Amazing office not far from city centre, with gym, steam room, creche, games area, big screen and bean bags aplenty. Great team and great attitude. Awesome perks – trips abroad, meals out, parties/events, rewards and incentives.” – Current Employee

Sky

Who They Are: Europe’s leading entertainment company.

Why They Are Great for Women: Sky has invested significant budget in its Women in Leadership initiative, which has a 50% target for females in senior management positions. Sky has been monitoring its recruitment statistics and says there has been a 30-45% increase in women applying to the company since the initiative came in. As part of the initiative, Sky pulls together 50/50 male/female shortlists for relevant job openings.

What Employees Say: “Excellent campus and work environment. Great balance of diversity across the UK employees.” – Current Employee

Barclays

Who They Are: One of the UK’s biggest and best-known banks.

Why They Are Great for Women: Globally, Barclays has implemented a Director to Managing Director promotion mentoring programme for women. It continues to build a pipeline of next-generation leaders, highlighting female talent. For example, the Barclays Women in Technology Group encourages women to take up IT careers in banking and finance. There are also return to work programmes focusing on women in both the UK and the US.

What Employees Say: “Due to flexible work pattern I was able to return to work after becoming a mum and progress further in my career (which is very fast paced) the flex makes this possible.” – Current Employee

Accenture

Who They Are: A leading global professional services company.

Why They Are Great for Women: Nine months maternity leave on full pay.

What Employees Say: “I can work from home whenever I want. The travel opportunities have been terrific as well. Maternity leave: 9 months full pay including car allowance… really supportive of the work/life balance.”  – Current Employee

M&G

Who They Are: One of the UK’s largest investment managers.

Why They Are Great for Women: Participates in inclusion initiative that develops and networks female employees in mid to senior roles, as well as being flexible for working mothers.

What Employees Say: “It is a great company to work for. They support you in all your educational needs and career development. There are so many training sessions. The people are friendly and work life balance is excellent. Another plus is that HR trains staff very well to support women in their careers even during pregnancy/maternity. I recently had a baby and I was initially scared that my career opportunities would suffer because of my pregnancy, but not at all. I wish more companies were like this, so very recommended!” – Current Employee

Vodafone

Who They Are: Global mobile network provider.

Why They Are Great For Women: 16 weeks’ fully paid maternity leave and full pay for working a reduced 30-hour week for the first six months after returning to work.

What Employees Say: “Vodafone tends to add that little extra to all benefits from extra maternity leave time to sick leave support and so on.” – Current Employee

Ocado Technology

Who They Are: The technology company behind Ocado, the world’s largest online-only grocery retailer.

Why They Are Great For Women: Part-time options available for working Mothers

What Employees Say: “I get to work with lots of really talented people, working on some really clever things. I joined the company following maternity leave and was able to agree a part time post – Ocado Tech couldn’t have been more flexible or supportive, it’s a great place to work if you have dependents, the benefits are pretty good, and I have a good work/life balance.” – Current Employee

First Direct

Who They Are: Online and telephone bank, part of the HSBC Group

Why They Are Great for Women: On-site creche.

What Employees Say: “Cares about customers. Fun working environment. Great facilities on site including Costa, on site Creche, staff restaurant, ATM, gym, and concierge.” – Former Employee

J Sainsbury

Who They Are: One of the UK’s biggest supermarkets.

Why They Are Great for Women: Focus on diversity and gender balance in management.

What Employees Say: “Good perks – paid breaks, discount card, bonus etc. A nice corporate environment in which colleagues are able to voice concerns through multiple channels that lead to the board of directors. Great diversity measures including a focus on getting more women into management positions through newly implemented schemes.” – Current Employee

MEC

Who They Are: One of the world’s leading media agency networks.

Why They Are Great for Women: Part-time options available for Working Mothers

What Employees Say: “I am lucky to have returned to work after maternity leave to a role, and people, I love working with, on a part time basis, with lots of flexibility and support from the management team so that I can continue to progress in my career and have many opportunities open to me. MEC is a fantastic place to work with so many talented people that work together to produce innovative and inspiring industry leading work for our clients.” – Current Employee

Atkins

Who They Are: A design, engineering and project management consultancy.

Why They Are Great for Women: Offers flexible working, which may include part-time, term-time or home working.

What Employees Say: “Atkins is a company that respects family and welcomes the opportunity for everyone especially women with children to have a good work-life balance (although sometimes this could depend on the kind of Line Manager you have). However, in general, Atkins is set up such that by Company Law, you are given the opportunity to work around your family life. I love Atkins. It’s the best company I’ve worked for so far. The people are extremely friendly and I have not experienced the company politics which is normally so rampant in many work places.” – Current Employee

Sanctuary Group

Who They Are: One of the UK’s leading providers of housing, care and community services.

Why They Are Great for Women: Offers flexible working and a generous maternity leave package.

What Employees Say: “I’ve just returned from maternity leave and have found the company is excellent at supporting new mums back to work. My manager kept in touch while I was on leave and when I returned, allowed me to change my working hours so I can drop my son at nursery. They have also been very understanding about when I need to leave to get him if he’s not very well and can’t stay at nursery. The maternity leave package is very good and they offer five days per year parental paid leave for emergencies, on top of good annual leave.” – Current Employee

ADP

Who They Are: One of the world’s largest providers of business outsourcing and human capital management solutions.

Why They Are Great for Women: ADP has its own Women in Leadership network, an initiative focussed on ADP’s female executive development, as well as an International Women’s Inclusion Network, a global women’s business resource group.

What Employees Say: “I have been at ADP for 5 years and have always been encouraged to develop as a leader, our investment in leaders is top class and our Women in Leader program sets us apart.” – Current Employee

Are you interested in a career with Sky? Please click here.

Are you interested in a career with Barclays? Please click here.

Are you interested in a career with Atkins? Please click here.

VERCIDA works with over one hundred clients who are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. If you are an employer and interested in working with VERCIDA to promote your diversity and inclusion initiatives and attract the best candidates, please call 02037405973 or email [email protected] for more information.

We are also officially recommended by Disability Confident as a step on achieving Employer status, please click here for more information.