EDI Initiative of the Year
EDI Initiative of the Year
This award highlights an initiative at a site or company, or an industry-wide campaign, that has resulted in improving equity, diversity and inclusion.
The contenders
Calisen
Menopause Inclusive Workplace Programme
Menopause has long been an overlooked workplace issue, especially in male-dominated sectors. Calisen’s EmpowerHER network launched the Menopause Inclusive Workplace Programme to break stigma, provide education and create meaningful support. Its first initiative, 'Hot Flushes & Flat Whites,' created a safe peer space for women to share experiences and advice. EmpowerHER also delivered webinars, introduced a menopause policy and developed a practical support toolkit. Raising menopause awareness has helped drive culture change, inform leadership priorities and empower women. The programme is already improving wellbeing, retention and confidence, marking significant progress toward a fully menopause inclusive organisation.
Centrica
British Gas Engineering Apprenticeship Programme
The British Gas Engineering Apprenticeship Programme is transforming a historically male‑dominated profession by removing long‑standing barriers that have prevented women entering technical roles. Through authentic visibility, inclusive recruitment, community outreach and a supportive apprenticeship experience, the programme has increased female engagement and applications, delivered over 405,500 organic views through targeted content, and achieved a historic 50–50 gender split in our first 2026 electrical cohort. Our long‑term commitment has created a sustainable pipeline of female engineers, with 2,000 apprentices since 2021 and progress toward our ambition for 50% women by 2030, reshaping the future of engineering.
ElectraLink
Menopause and Menstruation Policy
Launched in 2025, ElectraLink’s menopause and menstruation policy outlines specialised support pathways for all women in the business to be supported with their day-to-day health. With initiatives such as free sanitary products and heat pads available in its offices, a hybrid working culture and ongoing training and education for managers, we aim to create a culture unafraid of discussing and supporting women’s health in the workplace and beyond. This is supported by access to best-in-class private healthcare and mental health care, occupational health for reasonable adjustments, and encouraging sick leave for menstrual and menopausal symptoms.
GridBeyond
Powering Progress: Women-Led Policies Driving Inclusive Change
GridBeyond’s global EDI initiatives embed diversity, equity and inclusion into the heart of the organisation. Designed to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and able to contribute, the programme combines inclusive leadership, equitable recruitment, flexible working and a new suite of female-led wellbeing policies including fertility and reproductive health, menopause and menstrual wellbeing, pregnancy loss support, and a male health allyship policy to reduce stigma around men’s mental health. Together these initiatives support colleagues through real-life experiences while strengthening retention, engagement and psychological safety. Last year the company achieved Investors in Diversity Silver Accreditation, scoring above national benchmarks.
National Grid
BIG Respect
BIG Respect is a transformational equity, diversity and inclusion initiative that is reshaping inclusive leadership across National Grid and setting a benchmark for the utilities sector. Created within Electricity Distribution and now embedded across the group, BIG Respect addresses deep‑rooted cultural barriers that disproportionately impact women and underrepresented colleagues in operational environments. Through innovative, drama‑based leadership training, large‑scale engagement and employee listening, the initiative has driven measurable behaviour change, strengthened psychological safety, and improved confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour. BIG Respect demonstrates how inclusive culture is essential to a safe, sustainable and high‑performing utilities workforce.
SGN
National Inclusion Week
SGN organised a highly successful National Inclusion Week event for the gas distribution industry, bringing together over 100 attendees from all GDNs to explore and collaborate on EDI. Planned, researched and delivered by SGN – working with other GDN employee groups – the event included panel sessions, keynote speeches and workshops covering critical EDI topics, from inclusive leadership and neurodiversity, to race equity and LGBTQ+ inclusion. The event moved beyond awareness-raising and encouraged sector-wide alignment, accountability and sustained momentum. It demonstrated the power of inclusive leadership, particularly network-led and women-supported collaboration, in driving meaningful cultural change in the utilities industry.
Sureserve
The Social Enterprise Summer Programme
Sureserve’s Social Enterprise Summer Programme is a paid technical placement initiative created to widen access for women to housing and engineering careers. In a sector where women represent just 15% across construction and housing nationally, the programme is set to remove financial barriers, provide visible female mentors, and create a structured route from education to formal employment, building a measurable, scalable model to strengthen gender equality and long term workforce diversity in the housing and energy sector.
Thames Water
Empower Hours
Created by the Women’s Network and now open to all our ED&I communities, Empower Hours is a slot fostering a safe, hybrid, captioned and recorded space for practical learning and allyship–averaging 138 registrations per session. Co-hosted sessions, including our Pride and Male Allies employee networks, translate intent into everyday action with clear language, signposting and tools colleagues can use immediately. The result is a self-sustaining movement that strengthens confidence and belonging, bridges networks and leadership, surfaces issues earlier, and improves decisions — culture change you can feel, one hour at a time, every month.