NEURIX Research and Innovation is a non-profit organisation committed to equality, diversity, inclusion, fairness, dignity and respect. This Gender Equality Plan is adopted as an organisation-wide policy and action framework for promoting gender equality in governance, management, recruitment, working practices, research, innovation, collaborations, communication and organisational culture.
The plan applies to directors, staff, advisors, volunteers, consultants, collaborators and any individual acting on behalf of NEURIX Research and Innovation. It establishes the organisation’s commitments, assigns responsibility for implementation, identifies practical measures, and defines how progress will be monitored and reviewed.
Policy owner: Director
Approved by: Julia Sofroniou, Director
Date approved: 4/6/2025
Review cycle: At least every two years
Next scheduled review: 4/6/2027
The purpose of this Gender Equality Plan is to ensure that gender equality is embedded in the daily operation and strategic direction of NEURIX Research and Innovation. The organisation recognises that equality is essential to good governance, ethical conduct, high-quality research and innovation, and a respectful working environment.
NEURIX Research and Innovation will promote equal treatment and equal access to opportunities, remove barriers where they are identified, prevent discrimination and harassment, and support fair participation in decision-making. The organisation will apply these principles in a proportionate way, taking into account its size, resources and activities.
The implementation of this plan is guided by the following principles:
The Director has overall responsibility for the adoption, implementation and review of this Gender Equality Plan. The Director may appoint a designated equality representative, working group or external advisor to support implementation, monitoring, training and the handling of concerns. Where a concern involves the Director, the matter will be referred to another director, appointed advisor, board member or independent external advisor to preserve impartiality.
Responsibility for gender equality is shared across the organisation. Individuals involved in recruitment, supervision, governance, advisory work, public activities or research and innovation decisions are expected to apply the principles of this plan in their work. The organisation will retain appropriate evidence of decisions, actions, training, monitoring and reviews.
The organisation will allocate proportionate resources for the implementation of this plan. These resources may include staff time, management attention, training activities, record keeping, monitoring, external advice and, where needed, specialist support on equality, employment, safeguarding or data protection matters.
This Gender Equality Plan is a formal organisational document. It is approved by the Director and made available as part of the public information of NEURIX Research and Innovation. The organisation will keep the document accessible, review it regularly, and update it when organisational needs, legal requirements, monitoring outcomes or good practice require changes.
New staff, regular collaborators and relevant advisors will be informed of the plan during onboarding or at the start of their engagement with the organisation. The plan will also be referred to when setting expectations for conduct, recruitment, decision-making, collaboration and public-facing activities.
NEURIX Research and Innovation will collect and review gender-disaggregated information where it is lawful, relevant and proportionate. Monitoring will support evidence-based decisions and help the organisation identify barriers, patterns of underrepresentation, unequal access to opportunities or areas requiring improvement.
The organisation may monitor the gender balance of directors, staff, advisors, contributors, applicants, shortlisted candidates, appointees, training participants, leadership roles, panels, working groups and public-facing activities. Monitoring will also consider flexible working requests, equality-related concerns, training completion, and evidence that gender and inclusion have been considered in research and innovation activities.
A formal review of monitoring information will take place at least every two years. Where monitoring identifies imbalance or barriers, the Director will agree proportionate corrective actions. These may include reviewing recruitment language, improving transparency in appointment processes, widening participation routes, encouraging underrepresented groups, rotating responsibilities, offering mentoring, adjusting meeting practices or seeking external advice.
All monitoring records will be handled securely and in line with applicable data protection requirements. Data will be used only for organisational improvement and will not be used to disadvantage individuals.
NEURIX Research and Innovation will provide proportionate gender equality awareness raising for staff, directors, decision-makers and relevant collaborators. Training will support consistent understanding of equality, inclusion, respectful conduct, unconscious bias, fair recruitment, harassment prevention and the integration of gender considerations into research and innovation.
Equality information will be included in onboarding for new staff and regular collaborators. Staff and decision-makers will receive awareness raising or refresher training at least every two years, or earlier where a specific need is identified. Training may be delivered through internal briefings, external training providers, online resources, workshops, guidance documents or targeted discussions.
The organisation will keep appropriate evidence of training and awareness activities, including training plans, invitations, materials, attendance records, completion certificates or summary notes. Training topics may include:
NEURIX Research and Innovation is committed to maintaining a working culture that respects wellbeing, family life, caring responsibilities and different working circumstances. The organisation will consider flexible working arrangements where these are compatible with the role, activity requirements and operational needs.
Requests for flexible working, remote participation, adjusted meeting times, part-time arrangements or other reasonable working adjustments should be made to the Director or responsible manager. Each request will be considered fairly, taking into account the needs of the individual, the requirements of the role, confidentiality, workload, deadlines and the effective operation of the organisation. The outcome will be confirmed in writing where appropriate. If a request cannot be fully accepted, the organisation will explain the reason and consider alternative support.
Meetings, deadlines and travel should be planned with reasonable notice where possible. Important meetings should not be scheduled in a way that unnecessarily excludes people with caring responsibilities. Online participation should be offered where physical presence is not essential. Workload distribution will be reviewed where concerns arise that one person or group is receiving excessive, less visible or less valued work.
NEURIX Research and Innovation will seek fair participation in governance, leadership, advisory groups, committees, panels, working groups and decision-making roles. Appointments and responsibilities will be based on merit, relevant expertise, transparent criteria and organisational need, while also considering the importance of balanced representation.
The organisation will review the gender balance of directors, advisory groups, decision-making groups and public-facing leadership roles at least every two years. Where imbalance is identified, the Director will consider practical measures to improve participation over time. These may include open calls for roles, transparent selection criteria, targeted encouragement, mentoring, rotation of responsibilities, wider outreach, or external appointment routes.
Where immediate balance cannot be achieved because of the size of the organisation, availability or specialist expertise requirements, the reason will be recorded and considered in future appointments. The organisation will avoid relying only on informal networks when selecting individuals for leadership or representative roles.
Recruitment, selection and appointment processes will be fair, transparent and based on objective criteria. This applies to paid employment, advisory roles, consultancy opportunities, internships, volunteering, working groups and leadership responsibilities where relevant.
Role descriptions, vacancy notices and calls for participation will use inclusive language and will include only the skills, experience and requirements that are necessary for the role. Opportunities should be advertised or circulated fairly where possible. Selection criteria should be agreed before candidates are reviewed, and decision-making should be documented through notes, scoring matrices or written records where appropriate.
The organisation will not ask questions or apply criteria that may unfairly disadvantage individuals because of gender, pregnancy, maternity, family status or caring responsibilities. Individuals involved in recruitment or appointment decisions must declare conflicts of interest. Where a recruitment concern is raised, the Director or appointed reviewer will examine the role description, criteria, shortlist, interview notes and decision record. If an unfair process is identified, corrective action may include repeating part of the process, seeking independent advice, revising the criteria or improving future recruitment procedures.
NEURIX Research and Innovation will support fair access to training, mentoring, leadership experience, public visibility, authorship, recognition and professional development. The organisation will review how opportunities are allocated and will act where informal practices, repeated patterns or barriers limit equal participation.
NEURIX Research and Innovation will consider the gender dimension in research, innovation, analysis, design, development, testing, dissemination and evaluation where relevant. This includes activities involving users, datasets, digital services, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, public engagement, education, safety, risk, ethics or social impact.
During the planning of a research or innovation activity, the responsible lead should consider whether gender or inclusion may affect the topic, data, users, risks, outcomes, communication or impact. Where relevant, gender and inclusion considerations should be reflected in the design of the activity, data collection, user engagement, testing, risk assessment, dissemination or evaluation. Where the gender dimension is not relevant, the reason should be recorded briefly where appropriate.
The organisation will seek to avoid stereotypes, biased datasets, exclusionary language, unequal participation and research outputs that overlook different needs or risks. Where appropriate, activities should include diverse perspectives in consultation, design, testing and communication.
NEURIX Research and Innovation does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, bullying, intimidation, victimisation, sexual harassment or gender-based violence. All individuals working with or on behalf of the organisation are expected to behave respectfully and professionally in physical, online and written communication.
Concerns may include sexist comments, jokes or stereotypes; unwanted sexual comments, messages, images or physical contact; bullying or repeated disrespectful behaviour; unfair treatment linked to gender, pregnancy, maternity, caring responsibilities or family status; retaliation against someone who raises a concern; or inappropriate conduct during events, meetings, travel, online communication or collaborations.
Concerns should be reported to the Director or appointed equality representative. If the concern involves the Director, the matter should be referred to another director, appointed advisor, board member or independent external advisor. Reports will be acknowledged within five working days where contact details are provided.
The organisation will handle concerns fairly, confidentially and without retaliation. The first step will be to assess whether there is an immediate safety, safeguarding or legal risk. The person raising the concern will be offered a confidential discussion to explain what happened, what support may be needed, and which informal or formal routes may be appropriate. Where possible, an impartial person will review the concern. Information will be shared only with those who need to know in order to investigate, provide support, protect safety, comply with the law or take appropriate action.
Possible outcomes may include informal resolution, apology, mediation where appropriate, training, behavioural expectations, change of working arrangements, removal from a role or activity, ending a collaboration, disciplinary action, referral to external authorities or other action required by law. Victimisation or retaliation against anyone who raises a concern, supports a concern, gives evidence or participates in a review will be treated as a serious matter.
The organisation will keep proportionate records linked to this plan, including approval records, monitoring summaries, recruitment records, training records, meeting notes, action reviews and concern logs. Records will be stored securely and retained only for as long as necessary for organisational, legal, safeguarding or accountability purposes.
Equality monitoring data and concern records will be handled sensitively. Personal information will not be shared unnecessarily and will not be used to disadvantage individuals. Where external advice is required, only relevant information will be shared and confidentiality expectations will be made clear.
Progress will be reviewed using indicators that are proportionate to the size and activities of NEURIX Research and Innovation. The indicators may include:
This Gender Equality Plan will be reviewed at least every two years. The review will consider monitoring data, concerns raised, training completed, recruitment and appointment patterns, leadership participation, working culture, and the integration of gender and inclusion in research and innovation activities.
If the review identifies gaps or risks, the Director will approve corrective actions, assign responsibility and set a timeframe for implementation. The plan may be updated earlier than the scheduled review date where organisational changes, monitoring findings, legal developments or serious concerns make this necessary.
This Gender Equality Plan is formally adopted by NEURIX Research and Innovation.
Name: Julia Sofroniou
Position: Director
Date: 4/6/2025