Chemring is a diverse organisation, and our success depends on us developing and creating the right networks to support our global population. As such, we continue to focus on the diversity of talent coming into our organisation to ensure we have a healthy and vibrant mix of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives to bring innovative ideas and support a mindset of continuous improvement.
A key area of diversity for Chemring, and indeed the Engineering industry and Defence sector, is gender diversity. We’re keen to champion gender diversity across our industry, and in support of this, we recently signed the UK Women in Defence Charter.
We spoke to Sarah Ellard, Chemring’s Group Legal Director, to find out more about the Charter and its aims.
Explains Sarah, “The Women in Defence Charter was launched to improve gender balance in the UK Defence sector. It is a pledge to work together to build a more balanced industry. By signing the Charter, we are committing to be the very best at driving inclusion and diversity within our organisation, providing opportunities for women to succeed at all levels.
“As a signatory, Chemring has pledged to deliver in line with four key commitments. Firstly, assigning one member of our senior executive team as the person responsible and accountable for gender inclusion. That’s me!
“Secondly, we are committing to set internal targets, where appropriate, for gender diversity in our senior management teams.
“Thirdly, we are committed to publishing progress annually against any targets in reports on the Women in Defence Charter website. And finally, we are aiming to ensure the pay or the objectives of the senior executive team are linked to the delivery of any internal targets on gender inclusion and diversity.”
Here’s how the UK Defence sector currently looks in terms of numbers:
- 24% of UK Defence sector jobs are held by women
- 12% is the proportion of Women in the UK Armed Forces
By signing the Women in Defence Charter, Chemring has joined just over 90 other UK organisations that are together committed to improving the gender balance in the UK Defence sector.
Chemring’s support of gender diversity in our organisation and across the industry is further demonstrated in our upcoming sponsorship of the Defence Women’s Network Conference.
Taking place in Autumn 2024, the Defence Women’s Network Conference is an annual event organised by the MOD affiliated Defence Women’s Network. This year’s conference will be based on the themes of ‘courage’ and ‘resilience’ in an ever-changing digital world.
The Defence Women’s Network was formed in 2020 with the aims to break down the barriers of gender inequality and discrimination; to challenge inappropriate behaviours in the workplace; and educate our audiences pan-Defence on the topics of Diversity and Inclusion.