CGI UK Women’s Network is led by an employee-volunteer committee, of different ages, backgrounds, and seniorities. We are open to all, irrespective of gender, and work with our other Networks to collaborate on enriching, educational initiatives, and events, and share a breadth of employee experiences. We are a community united to support CGI’s drive for gender diversity, inclusion, and to support and celebrate the success of women in CGI. Established in 2018, we were the first of now 11 DE&I Networks within CGI UK, and the largest with over 700 members.
Our Network and committee were established with the purpose of:
• Helping our members to connect, and to grow their networks;
• Ensuring that women feel comfortable and welcome in their working environment, and are able bring their whole self to work;
• To positively inspire all members through our shared experiences and provide a mentor/ mentee service to enhance career progression;
• To discuss relevant issues that are faced in the workplace and everyday life, and explore ways to improving;
• To work with the UK Learning team to help develop tools and techniques to develop members skills and careers;
• To recognise and to celebrate the positive contribution that women make within CGI;
• To recognise and celebrate the positive contribution our male ally’s make to the network;
• To support the UK CGI recruitment team to attract more female talent
CGI are among the largest IT and consulting firms globally, and we pride ourselves on doing complex things well and creating an environment where we enjoy working together and contributing to building a company we are proud of. Diversity sits at the heart of our values, and we understand the advantages it brings to our business. Achieving gender balance is critical to attract and retain talented professionals, which we strive for by nurturing a supportive environment for a diverse workforce. As such, CGI are committed supports of DE&I initiatives and Networks within the organisation.
We survey members annually to understand the important issues, identify the initiatives that have made the most difference, and what they want to see next. Our membership is measured monthly, more than doubling since January 2022, with over 40% of female employees being Network members. We have driven conversations with UK Leadership to enhance CGI offerings including delivering our Menopause Guidance for Managers and enhanced Maternity and Adoption benefits.
We continually receive excellent feedback through our surveys and Teams Channel about the value of our seminars, initiatives, events and training. Members share an appreciation for the supportive community we have built together, how it has grown their confidence and inspired them to stretch their career goals and they thank us for highlighting unspoken issues women face in life and at work.
Our annual promotion webinars are some of the most attended across the UK with hundreds of employees listening for tips on how to succeed in their next promotion. In 2023 we launched our mentoring scheme within the Network. In 2024, we launched in-person Speed-Mentoring events for International Women’s Day, and plan to continue.
Our Women’s Health channel started in 2020 for employees experiencing menopausal symptoms to seek support and has expanded to support fertility and gynaecological issues. We have delivered UK-wide webinars to highlight how these issues affect women at work, to raise awareness, and to provide guidance.
We support our female employees to make time for training and personal development. Our Development Toolkit produced with our Learning Team signposts relevant resources and training to support women’s professional growth. Our discussion topics have covered imposter syndrome, confidence, HR policies, keynotes from our female leaders, balancing a career and a family and more.
