Royal Mail’s commitment to career progression of women in the workplace has been recognised in a national index of UK companies. Royal Mail achieved the ‘Gold’ standard after being named in Business in the Community’s (BITC) Top 10 Private Sector Organisations for Gender in 2013. The company received the award on Tuesday, November 19, after being benchmarked against other UK companies on gender equality, taking into account factors such as learning and development, equal pay, and career progression. 

Royal Mail impressed the judges with their initiatives:
- The Springboard Women’s Development Programme, which offers non-management female employees a series of workshops aimed at boosting confidence and encouraging them to progress their careers Women’s networks and mentoring, set up to support female colleagues already in management positions.
-Executive Leadership Programme. This is a flagship development programme for current leaders, and since its launch in 2012, there have been an equal number of female and male attendees. The prestigious BITC rating underpins Royal Mail’s commitment to gender equality and diversity in the workplace.

Earlier in November, the company was recognised at workingmums' Top Employer Awards for encouraging career progression for mothers. In September, Royal Mail was named Company of the Year at the Women in Logistics Awards.

Royal Mail’s Director of Regulation and Government Affairs, Sue Whalley, who chairs the company’s Gender Diversity Steering Group, said: “We are delighted to have been given this Gold standard by BITC and to be one of their top 10 private sector companies for gender. This rating and the other awards we have recently received illustrates our commitment to supporting and developing women across the workplace, whether they are front line colleagues or are in senior management. “The schemes we have put in place are helping improve gender equality and diversity across the company. We believe this critical to achieve our business objectives.”