IRIS Software Group certified as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Women for the second year running
IRIS Software Group (IRIS), one of the UK’s largest software companies, has announced today it’s been certified as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Women by Great Place to Work Ltd® for the second year running. IRIS was ranked 25 out of 39 in the Super Large (1,000+ employees) category.
IRIS has been awarded this achievement based on the results of its employee engagement survey conducted with Great Place to Work UK® and its representation of women across the IRIS family, including in senior management roles. The survey asked all female employees at IRIS about their experiences at work and the results placed IRIS as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Women.
The business is constantly committed to ensuring all its employees are able to reach their full potential regardless of gender. IRIS is a strong advocate for equality and has numerous initiatives focused on promoting women across the business, designed to remove any obstacles encountered by women looking to transition into leadership positions.
IRIS celebrates the success of all women across its workforce and promotes and showcases its female senior leaders as role models across the business; including IRIS’ CEO, Elona-Mortimer Zhika who joined the business as Chief Financial Officer in 2016, and quickly made her way up to Chief Operating Officer in 2018 and Chief Executive Officer in 2019.
IRIS’ female workforce accounts for 44% of the business. This is a particularly strong figure, given that only 19% of the UK’s tech workforce are women. With this figure, IRIS leads the way in championing workplace inclusivity.
Stephanie Kelly, Chief People Officer at IRIS Software Group, said,
“At IRIS, we put our customers and colleagues at the heart of everything we do and aim to enable our colleagues to be the best they can be irrespective of their background.
“We’re proud to foster and build constructive and meaningful relationships and place trust in our female workforce to go on and prosper. We have such a positive, supportive and flexible working environment, and we have developed a range of programmes and initiatives to help our women flourish. Our initiatives aim to evolve leadership skillsets at all levels for female colleagues.
“These include our Women in Leadership Programme, which cultivates the great talent we have among our female colleagues at IRIS; our Returnships Policy, which helps mothers who have taken long career breaks to find a path back into the workplace and our Women’s Hub, which signposts a range of resources and opportunities. We also give women returning from maternity an automatic right to work part time for six months. We continue to listen to our employees and make positive changes.
“It’s an honour to be recognised again this year; we’re so proud of all our colleagues.”
Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director of Great Place to Work® UK, explains,
“Now in its fifth year, our 2022 list showcases the largest collection of Best WorkplacesTM for Women that the UK has ever recognised. These results are based on what women themselves have anonymously reported to us about their workplace experience and how well represented they are in the workforce and management.
“Ensuring people aren’t discriminated against, placing positive value on our differences, creating fair access and advancement for all, and fostering a sense of value and empowerment in employees is what being a Great Place to Work® is all about.
“Only by first identifying the gaps in workers’ experiences can organisations truly take action to close them, which is why analysing employee experience is important. We are proud that the data and insights we provide organisations helps on that continuous journey – and it’s wonderful to celebrate so many Best Workplaces™ for Women this year, across all sectors and organisational sizes.”
