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International Women’s Day provides a powerful moment to reflect — not only on how far we have come, but on how intentionally we continue to shape a fairer, more inclusive world of work.
The 2026 theme, Give to Gain, speaks directly to the journey we have been on this past year: investing time, care, listening and opportunity to building a culture where people feel valued, supported and able to thrive. When we give generously — whether through inclusive leadership, development opportunities or everyday acts of allyship — we all gain.
At UKAS, our work on equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging is not a stand-alone initiative. It is embedded in how we lead, how we develop talent and how we create the conditions for sustainable organisational success.
We are proud of the progress we have made in nurturing female talent across the organisation. Today, 54% of our workforce is made up of women, our Executive Team has an equal representation of women and men and 63% of our Senior Leadership Team is female. These outcomes reflect long‑term commitment, not short‑term targets.
Over the past year, we have continued to strengthen the foundations that enable this progress and create opportunities for more dialogue. We have placed renewed emphasis on personal and professional development, offering comprehensive learning programmes alongside coaching and mentoring. Many of our senior leaders began their careers with UKAS in more junior roles — a powerful example of how sustained investment in people enables growth, confidence and progression.
Belonging also means recognising that success looks different at different stages of life. We continue to support work–life balance through family‑friendly policies, including maternity, paternity and parental leave, alongside flexible working options such as part‑time and reduced‑hours contracts. These approaches support not only women, but all colleagues navigating caring responsibilities and changing personal circumstances.
Equity remains central to our people practices. We take a gender‑neutral approach to pay, regularly reviewing our reward and benefits framework to ensure it remains fair, competitive and inclusive. This work forms part of a wider commitment to removing structural barriers and ensuring opportunity is accessible to all.
As the UK’s national accreditation body, our purpose is to create trust and confidence in the products and services people rely on every day. That same principle underpins our approach to our people. Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is ultimately about fostering a genuine culture of belonging — where individuals feel respected, heard and empowered to contribute fully.
We believe our collective strength lies in the diversity of perspectives, skills and experiences within our organisation. By embracing difference, we drive innovation, strengthen decision‑making and deliver excellence across our accreditation, training and advisory services. We know that achieving this is not always straightforward and that meaningful change takes time, learning and honest conversation; so we recognise that this is ongoing work for us and by no means finished.
The accredited testing, inspection and certification sector continues to evolve rapidly and we are committed to attracting talent from a broad range of backgrounds into technical, professional and corporate roles. Our fair and open recruitment practices ensure we draw from wide candidate pools and appoint based on capability, potential and values alignment.
International Women’s Day is both a celebration and a call to action. As we look ahead, our focus remains on deepening inclusion, strengthening belonging and continuing to give — so that individuals, teams and the organisation can gain. Give to gain is not simply a theme, but part of a broader strategy.
Progress happens when inclusion is intentional — and when belonging is everyone’s responsibility. It is driven not by policy alone, but by the daily actions of leaders, managers and colleagues across UKAS.
If you would like to be part of an organisation that actively champions equity, inclusion and respect, we would love to hear from you.
Where will your future take you? 🔗
https://ukas.talosats-careers.com