16 Sep 2019

Women in Defence Charter launched at DSEI

The Women in Defence Charter was launched at Defence and Security Equipment International by the Minister for Defence Procurement Anne-Marie Trevelyan.

The Charter is a commitment to work together to build a more balanced enterprise, with signatories committing to be the very best at driving inclusion and diversity within their organisations and providing opportunities for women to succeed at all levels.

The Charter:

• commits organisations to supporting the progression of women in to senior roles in the defence sector by focusing on the executive pipeline and the mid-tier level
• recognises the diversity of the sector and that organisations will have different starting points – each organisation should therefore set its own targets, where appropriate, and implement the right strategy them
• requires organisations to publicly report on progress to deliver against any internal targets to support the transparency and accountability needed to drive change
• aims to enable women to thrive, enhancing the individual and collective impact of women across defence and in doing so, improving the overall output of defence.

Our Chair, Ruth Cairnie, Patron of the Charter said: “Experience shows that diverse teams mean better business decisions and more innovative solutions. This is particularly relevant in the UK defence sector, which thrives on collaboration as well as competition. Those who sign the Charter are committing themselves to actions which will make a huge difference, and our people, the sector and the country will reap the benefits.”

The Charter is a collaboration between the Ministry of Defence, Women in Defence UK, ADS, Defence Growth Partnership, industry and others, and reflects the aspiration of the defence community to improve gender balance at all levels.

To find out more about the Women in Defence Charter, visit www.womenindefenceuk.com/