Albania 
Czech Republic 
Deutschland 
Greece 
Ireland 
Italy 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands 
Portugal 
Romania 
Spain 
United Kingdom 
Asia-Pac Middle East 
Turkey 
DR Congo 
Egypt 
Ghana 
Kenya 
Lesotho 
Mozambique 
Nigeria 
South Africa 
Tanzania 
Striking a fairer balance
By empowering women and promoting gender equality, we can help communities, economies and businesses, including our own, to thrive. Here are some of the ways we’re working to redress the gender balance here at VodafoneThree, and beyond.
Our commitment to a more equal future
We’ve set ourselves targets to make sure we’re taking action to make VodafoneThree a more inclusive place for women. And we want a strong pipeline of female talent to ensure it continues, as well as greater success and progression for all women across our company. We also believe that celebrating talented women and representing an intersectional approach to gender equality should be central to everything we’re doing to create it.
UK Gender Equity Network
Our UK Gender Equity Network is for everyone who works with us in the UK – whatever their story. The group works to celebrate diversity in every context and help our people achieve their potential, no matter what their background and goals may be.
Among many other pledges, they’re committed to creating a safe place where people can discuss their challenges, ideas and thoughts without judgement or criticism. Alongside this, they’re providing tangible support to their network members, driving our policies on gender-related topics and encouraging male allyship.
Domestic Violence and Abuse
In 2019, we were the first global company to launch a new HR policy for victims of domestic violence and abuse. Any employee who has faced abuse will have access to up to 10 days’ additional “safe leave”, giving them the time and support they need to manage their situation. We also offer line manager training and have developed a toolkit with domestic abuse expert Dr Jane Pillinger and have trained up colleagues across the business as Allies Against Abuse, to support colleagues who may be experiencing domestic abuse.
Family Related Leave
Our pioneering global parental policy is a cornerstone of our flexible working offer. We are proud to support expectant parents who are having a baby, adopting a child, or becoming a parent through surrogacy through our supportive family related leave policies including, up to 26 weeks full pay (paid out over 39) for birthing parents and primary caregivers. Up to 16 weeks paid leave for partners and non-birthing parents that can be taken any time during their first 18 months of becoming a parent.
As well as our support for returning parents by offering 100% pay for 80% working hours for 6 months on return from family related leave.
Parents whose babies are born prematurely have the flexibility to adapt their leave to suit their situation. And any parent who sadly loses a child – whether that’s during pregnancy or up to their 18th birthday – are given two weeks’ paid leave.
Policies for Carers
We understand many of our people care for others in their lives. To support you, we provide leave periods to help parents and carers take extra time when needed:
- Parents who care for a child, under 18 years old, can take up to18 weeks leave (four weeks per year), the first week being paid leave.
- Carers can take 2 weeks per year per dependent, the first week being paid leave.
Carers also get free access to Legal & General’s Care Concierge Service, which provides support and advice. This includes a 30-minute telephone session with a Care Expert to help you understand what care is needed, how to arrange it and how to cover the cost.
Showcasing Women
While we always celebrate International Women’s Week, we believe that profiling talented women should happen all year long. Throughout the year, we ensure that our events, panels and contributions represent our broad community, and that our talent reviews and awards do too.
Events
We run a whole host of events to promote gender equality. These include our annual celebrations of International Women’s Day, which in the past have featured well-known speakers like Myleene Kalss, Nicola Adams, Emma Willis, Vanessa Sanyauke, Amanda Bennett and Claudia Winkleman. Plus, many networking, mentoring, and education sessions run by our networks.
Our events spread the word beyond our business too. In 2024, we hosted a reception at the House of Commons to highlight the vital work of apps against abuse in tackling violence against women and girls.
