Policies | Gender Equality Plan
Gender Equality Plan
Gender Equality Plan at Phoenix Systems SA and equality actions for the years 2025-2028 Warsaw
1. Introduction
The contemporary technology industry is developing dynamically, shaping the future of societies, economies, and people’s daily lives worldwide. In this context, issues of gender equality and building diverse and inclusive teams take on particular significance. Equal opportunities and the representation of women in the IT industry still require conscious and consistent support at both organizational and systemic levels.
At Phoenix Systems, we are convinced that true innovation is born where different perspectives, experiences, and ways of thinking meet. Therefore, we treat promoting gender equality and supporting diversity as an integral element of our development strategy. We believe that building a work environment based on mutual respect, fairness, and equal access to professional opportunities translates not only into better business results but also into greater commitment and satisfaction for all employees.
Our values — trust, responsibility, openness, and respect — shape all areas of our activity. We want everyone, regardless of gender, to be able to develop in an environment that fosters mutual support, personal growth, a sense of purpose, and work-life balance. We understand that gender equality is not only a matter of numerical representation but, above all, creating an organizational culture that supports and appreciates diversity as a strength.
This Gender Equality Plan is an expression of our commitment to building a space where equality is the standard, not the exception. It is a document that sets out our goals, directions of action, and commitments to all employees, and it also reflects our belief that equal treatment and diversity are conditions for lasting success — not only in the IT industry but in every modern organization.
The preparation of the Gender Equality Plan was based on sex-disaggregated baseline data covering all persons employed at Phoenix Systems, regardless of the form of employment. An analysis of existing regulations, practices, and procedures regarding the promotion of gender equality, counteracting mobbing and discrimination, and creating conditions for reconciling professional and private life was also carried out.
The Gender Equality Plan of Phoenix Systems complies with applicable legal provisions, including the Polish implementation of the Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms.
2. Definitions of key concepts
To ensure consistency and clarity of the message, definitions of key concepts used in the Gender Equality Plan are presented below. This terminology forms the basis for understanding the assumptions of the document and the solutions proposed within it.
- Diversity – differences in values, attitudes, cultural perspectives, beliefs, ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, skills, knowledge, and life experiences of each person in any group of people. (European Commission, 1998)
- Gender equality / equality of the sexes – equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities for women and men, and for girls and boys. (European Commission, 1998)
- Direct discrimination – a situation where a person is treated less favorably on the grounds of gender than another person is, has been, or would be treated in a comparable situation. (European Parliament, 2006)
- Indirect discrimination – a situation where an apparently neutral provision, criterion, or practice would put persons of one gender at a particular disadvantage compared to persons of the other gender, unless that provision, criterion, or practice is objectively justified by a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary. (European Parliament, 2006)
- Gender pay gap – the difference between the average gross hourly earnings received by women and men in the same positions or performing work of the same value, expressed as a percentage of men’s average earnings, interpreted as a percentage. (Statistics Poland, 2025) (European Parliament, 2020)
- Sexual harassment – a situation where any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature occurs, with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment. (European Parliament, 2006)
- Mobbing – actions or behavior relating to an employee or directed against an employee, consisting of persistent and long-lasting harassment or intimidation of the employee, causing a lowered assessment of their professional capability, causing or aiming at humiliating or ridiculing the employee, isolating them or eliminating them from the team of co-workers. (Labor Code, 1974)
- Sexism – the view that achieving gender equality is impossible, generally manifested through the declared superiority of one gender over the other and the associated statements or actions declaring the objectified role of one gender and maintaining negative stereotypes related to this issue. (Hurek & Maj, 2012)
3. Diagnosis
The IT industry is still characterized by significant gender imbalance — women constitute a minority among new technology specialists, and their share in employment is significantly lower than that of men. As stated by the Ministry of Digital Affairs: „In 2022, in Poland, women accounted for only 16.7 percent of people working in ICT. This is below the European average of 18.9 percent. This situation results, among others, from the low willingness of women to study these types of fields. In 2021, female graduates of higher education ICT programs accounted for only 0.9 percent of all graduates, while for men this percentage was 3.2 percent. The situation looked even less favorable in the case of secondary schools educating in ICT professions, where the ratio of female graduates to male graduates was 1.5 percent to 14 percent.” (Ministry of Digital Affairs, 2024).
Despite the growing interest of women in the IT industry and the increasingly numerous initiatives supporting their presence in this sector (such as IT Girls, Women in Technology, girl code fun), there is still a visible need to take actions to equalize opportunities, promote diversity, and actively support women in their professional development and promotions.
At Phoenix Systems, a diagnosis was carried out based on which the Gender Equality Plan was drawn up. The diagnosis confirms the IT trends described above.
4. Strategic Goals
The goals of the Gender Equality Plan for Phoenix Systems were developed based on internal analyses by the HR and Administration department and consultations with the employee representative. The work also took into account good practices used in other organizations — both from the technological sector and institutions implementing equality plans at the European level.
The goals defined in the Gender Equality Plan at Phoenix Systems are of a strategic, operational, and educational nature. Their implementation aims to introduce positive changes in the company’s organizational structures, modify existing practices, and develop new procedures conducive to gender equality. The adopted goals complement and reinforce each other, creating a coherent direction for actions towards building a work environment based on respect, equal opportunities, and an inclusive organizational culture.
5. Raising awareness of the importance of gender equality and the significance of diversity among employees and contractors
We intend to systematically raise awareness of the importance of gender equality and the significance of diversity among employees and contractors by implementing educational, communication, and organizational activities. A key element of this strategy is the continuation of mandatory training on equality and diversity, carried out in cooperation with renowned institutions, and increasing the percentage of people who have completed them. We want to increase the percentage of trained persons from 52.31% to 100%.
A complement to the existing training is further monitoring of the fulfillment of the obligation for all employees and contractors to familiarize themselves with internal regulations, in particular with the Work Regulations, which specify the rules for equal treatment and equal pay for women and men. This document constitutes the organizational foundation supporting the practical application of the gender equality and diversity policy.
The company also plans to take actions to build effective internal communication that is gender-neutral and does not exclude any underrepresented groups. The communication strategy assumes writing messages in a clear, inclusive, and understandable form for all workers, using equal language, and avoiding stereotypes and gender-biased terms.
Additionally, we plan to regularly organize internal training sessions aimed at raising the awareness of employees and contractors regarding the importance of gender equality and the significance of diversity in the workplace. These training sessions will be conducted by the company’s unit responsible for personnel policy, which will ensure their adaptation to the specificity of the organization and the current needs of employees and contractors.
| Goal | Action | Indicator |
| Raising awareness of the importance of gender equality and the significance of diversity among workforce | Continuation of mandatory training on equality and diversity | Percentage of workforce who completed the training, desired indicator level: 100% |
| Inclusive internal communication | Number of reported comments or incidents regarding exclusionary language in internal communication, desired indicator level: 0 | |
| Internal training | Number of organized training sessions, percentage of people participating in the training, desired indicator level: 1 per year, 100% |
6. Ensuring equal opportunities and supporting the active participation of women in the work environment
To achieve the described goal, Phoenix Systems plans to actively participate in industry events focused on strengthening the role of women in the IT sector, such as Women in IT Days or similar initiatives promoting gender equality in new technologies. The company treats these activities as an important step towards increasing the representation of women among the workforce and inspiring subsequent generations of female specialists to develop a career in the field of new technologies.
Additionally, financial support is planned to be introduced. We propose a cash payment for an employee upon becoming a parent, which is intended to facilitate combining professional work with new personal challenges. This solution aims to facilitate reconciling professional duties with family life and building a work environment friendly to all employees and contractors.
| Goal | Action | Indicator |
| Ensuring equal opportunities and supporting the active participation of women in the work environment | Participation in events promoting the presence of women in IT or promoting women at other industry events | Number of industry events with the participation of company representatives during the year, desired indicator level: 1 per year |
| Financial support – Baby layette | Percentage of parents who used the program, desired indicator level: 100% |
7. Ensuring that recruitment and promotion processes are transparent, objective, and free from bias
Phoenix Systems will take actions aimed at increasing the transparency and equality of the procedures used. An important element will be the development and publication of a clear career path that will define the criteria for promotion and professional development, while guaranteeing equal opportunities for women and men. This solution will allow employees to transparently plan their development within the company’s structures, and will also reduce the risk of making promotion decisions based on subjective factors or biased prejudices.
Another planned solution is the rule according to which in every recruitment process, the team evaluating applications and conducting job interviews will include both a woman and a man. Such an approach will increase the objectivity of the assessment, minimize the possibility of unconscious bias, and strengthen the sense of transparency of the entire recruitment process.
| Goal | Action | Indicator |
| Ensuring that recruitment and promotion processes are transparent, objective, and free from bias | Developing a career path | Internally published career path with criteria for promotion and professional development |
| Recruitment team consisting of a woman and a man | Recruitment satisfaction survey: 70% of surveyed people rated the recruitment at 7-10 points out of 10 |
8. Counteracting sexual harassment, violence, and discrimination
As part of achieving the main goal „Counteracting sexual harassment, violence, and discrimination”, Phoenix Systems plans to introduce comprehensive solutions strengthening the protection of employees against violence of any kind and building a culture of mutual respect. A key action will be the development and implementation of a clear procedure for reporting and resolving all cases of violations, which will ensure the transparency of proceedings and a sense of security for reporting persons. This solution aims to create coherent and effective response mechanisms that will support the building of a work environment free from harassment, violence, and discrimination.
| Goal | Action | Indicator |
| Counteracting sexual harassment, violence, and discrimination | Implementation of a procedure for reporting violations | Internal publication of the procedure |
9. Final provisions
The Gender Equality Plan at Phoenix Systems SA is established as an official internal company document, effective from the date of its approval by the Management Board. It constitutes a framework for actions in favor of equal treatment, diversity, and an inclusive work environment. Annual progress reports will also be published, which will enable insight into the effects of the plan’s impact on the organization for all interested parties.
Every organizational unit and all employees and contractors are obliged to familiarize themselves with the Gender Equality Plan, comply with its provisions, and actively support activities related to its implementation. At the same time, Phoenix Systems SA guarantees all employees and contractors access to the appropriate resources needed for its implementation. For the purposes of implementing and monitoring the Gender Equality Plan, the involvement of existing personnel is foreseen, in particular employees of the department responsible for personnel policy and management staff, as well as other designated persons responsible for equality policy, who will support the implementation of actions provided for in the plan. The company also secures financial resources enabling the conduct of training, information, and organizational activities related to the promotion of equality and diversity.
The plan was accepted by the employee representative, elected in accordance with the Regulations for the election of an employee representative at Phoenix Systems SA. These regulations have been published on the company’s internal website and are available to all employees and contractors.
10. References
European Commission. (1998). 100 Words for Equality: A Glossary of Terms on Equality between Women and Men. EC.
Statistics Poland (GUS). (2025, 08 03). Concepts used in official statistics. Retrieved from Statistics Poland: https://stat.gov.pl/metainformacje/slownik-pojec/pojecia-stosowane-w-statystyce-publicznej/1496%2Cpojecie.html
Hurek, J. and Maj, M. (2012). Gender equality and innovativeness – current state and recommendations for the future. Warsaw: PARP.
Labor Code. (1974). Labor code, act of June 26, 1974, Journal of Laws 1974 no. 24 item 141 as amended, art. 94 sec. 2.
Ministry of Digital Affairs. (2024). Roundtable for increasing the number of women in IT professions. Retrieved 08 19, 2025 from https://www.gov.pl/web/cyfryzacja/okragly-stol-na-rzecz-wzrostu-liczby-kobiet-w-zawodach-it
European Parliament. (2006, 07 5). Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation. Retrieved 08 04, 2025 from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PL/TXT/?uri=celex:32006L0054
European Parliament. (2020). European Parliament topics. Retrieved 07 07, 2025 from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/pl/article/20200109STO69925/luka-placowa-miedzy-kobietami-a-mezczyznami-definicja-fakty-i-przyczyny