At Thales, we are delighted to be sponsoring this month’s campaign on VERCIDA which is themed around Intersectionality Awareness.

We are committed to creating a truly diverse workforce with a culture that respects and values the uniqueness of every individual. We work across various industry sectors generating exciting and creative solutions for our customers. We believe the best way we can serve our people, as well as our customers and local communities, is to ensure that we continuously work to build an environment in which our colleagues feel respected for who they are and the value that their individuality brings to our organisation.

Our vision is that Thales UK adopts a culture where everyone, regardless of their age, ethnicity, gender, cultural heritage or religious disposition, can fulfil their full potential at work. It is inherently important to us that we provide the right infrastructure and support so everyone feels respected and included at work.

This vision is led by the knowledge that employee empowerment, engagement and talent development, from the widest pool possible, is crucial to obtain diverse ideas which help our industry to stay innovative. This involves targeted recruitment activity as well as ensuring that our hiring processes are free from bias. To maintain and support our efforts, we work with external organisations, charities and partners who all share our passion and commitment to ED&I.

As an organisation, we realise how crucial intersectionality is in helping us understand the individual unique challenges our employees face, which cannot be fully addressed by looking at each identity category in isolation. By considering the various ways in which identities intersect, we seek to create more comprehensive and effective strategies to promote diversity and inclusion.

Internally, we recently relaunched some of our policies to improve the support to all of our current and future employees; with guidance from external suppliers and our employees to ensure we offer the best for our people. Policies recently relaunched include: Workplace Adjustments, Fertility Treatment, EDI, Menopause, and our Family Matters policy.

Our employees are encouraged to create an internal dialogue through the Be You With Us networks. The BYWU networks are where our employee groups come together to collaborate, challenge and inform. A member from each network, HR, and guest speakers come together once a quarter to share ideas, agree on priorities, and take action to improve the experience of the employees they represent. Current internal groups are: Gender: WiTh UK, Disability and Neurodiversity: ND Thales and Disability Network, Sexual orientation: LGBTQ+ Network, Ethnicity: REACH Network and our Early Careers Committee.

We are members of the Business Disability Forum (BDF), which helps us with our commitment to becoming a disability-smart organisation. And this year, we have signed the BITC’s Race At Work charter. By signing the Race at Work Charter, Thales UK has made a commitment to take specific actions to create racial equity within our organisation and the wider industry.

We work in partnership with Code First Girls, an organisation that enables young girls and non-binary individuals with no qualifications or experience to start their careers in Software. We are really passionate about supporting women with opportunities and providing sponsorship and development as a way of learning new skills and careers.

Thales takes pride in being an employer that continuously improves and promotes Equity, Diversity and inclusion. Our aim is to foster an environment where everyone feels heard, respected and included.

We invite you to join us and VERCIDA in celebrating and commemorating this awareness month.

• International Day of Charity 05/09/2023
  
• Krishna Janmashtami (Hindu) 06/09/2023
  
• World Suicide Prevention Day 10/09/2023
  
• Rosh Hashanah (Jewish) 15/09/2023
  
• International Equal Pay Day 18/09/2023
  
• World Alzheimer’s Day 21/09/2023
  
• International Day of Peace 21/09/2023
  
• Bisexual Visibility Day 23/09/2023
  
• International Day of Sign Languages 23/09/2023
  
• World Deaf Day 24/09/2023
  
• Yom Kippur (Jewish) 25/09/2023
  
• National Inclusion Week 25/09/2023
  
• European Day of Languages 26/09/2023