SMI win at Women in Defence UK Annual Awards Night
Scientific Management International has won the Most Improved Charter Signatory Award at the Annual Women in Defence UK Awards. SMI were the only SME shortlisted amongst other defence giants such as BAE Systems and Serco, and took home the prize for going above and beyond their ambitious targets to ensure a more diverse and inclusive company in the defence industry.
The award – which is supported by the Women in Defence UK Charter, an initiative that pushes signatories to move towards a more gender-equal defence industry – is a yearly affair that looks to recognise those organisations in the UK defence industry who are actively seeking to ensure better representation for women in an industry that has huge opportunities for anyone and everyone looking to make a difference.
The category of Most Improved Charter Signatory, sees entrants demonstrating their own targets for hiring a more diverse team across the year, with those who succeed demonstrating a commitment to ambition and being the positive change that the industry needs.
Presenting the Award, Admiral Sir Ben Key KCB CBE ADC, First Sea Lord, said, “The judges felt that this finalist has shown a dramatic shift over the last three years in terms of gender ratio, reduction in the gender pay gap, extremely strong employee engagement scores and a strong move towards flexible working.”
“Winning this category is super important to us at SMI – we’re not a massive company so the opportunities for diversity and inclusion initiatives can be limited, but we’re incredibly proud to have been recognised for our ambition here”, said Jenny Shaw, CEO at SMI. “Being shortlisted alongside other organisations that we really respect – BAE Systems and Serco – was daunting, but we’re really proud to have been counted amongst them. We’re like to extend our congratulations to them, too. We’re all doing important work here, and long may it continue to make our industry better in the future.”
“We’re really incredibly happy to have committed to this initiative and to have set a high bar for ourselves”, added Catherine Jennings, People & Culture Director at SMI. “It’s really a testament to the commitment of the entire team too. We are already a very diverse company and team at all levels so to have this recognition of the work towards equality is fantastic. We have achieved a great deal but our commitment to being Employer of Choice for all our colleagues will continue to drive us.
Headquartered in Andover with international offices in the US, Australia, and Canada, SMI has a long and storied connection to the Armed Forces, having supplied the Royal Navy with submarine cabling for over 30 years, achieving a much-coveted Ministry of Defence Capability Approval for the past 30 years; longer than any other organisation globally. The team is also a member of the Armed Forces Covenant; a commitment to hiring veterans of the UK’s Armed Forces.
SMI is the first Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) to have won this category at the Women in Defence UK Awards, demonstrating how big the impact on the economy – especially in defence – SMEs have in the UK.