Gender Equality Policy and D&I Policy

Agile Lab promotes an inclusive, fair and diversity-respectful work environment, valuing individual characteristics as a lever for growth and innovation.

In accordance with UNI/PdR 125:2022 and ISO 30415:2021, the organization has adopted a policy in favor of gender equality and diversity and inclusion (D&I), committing to:

1. Promote gender equality through the adoption of management systems that measure, monitor and improve performance related to gender equality, integrating specific performance indicators (KPIs) into their organizational processes.
2. Value diversity in all its forms (gender, age, sexual orientation, culture, religion, ability, socio-economic background) and promote an inclusive corporate culture that recognizes its value as a source of innovation and development.
3. Ensure equal opportunities for access, growth and career, basing the evaluation of collaborators exclusively on merit, skills and results, without discrimination of any kind.
4. Support work-life balance, promoting initiatives of organizational flexibility, family welfare and parental protection, recognizing the importance of the balance between professional and personal life.
5. Train and raise awareness among all staff on issues of diversity, inclusion and gender equality, through continuous training programs aimed at preventing stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, harassment or mobbing.
6. Ensure a safe environment and effective mechanisms for anonymous reporting of any incidents that are contrary to the principles of inclusion and equality.
7. Govern the D&I system through a Ethics & Inclusion Committee, responsible for promoting, implementing and monitoring policies in this area, with periodic reports to the General Management.
8. Communicate and report on progress achieved, through official documents and reports accessible to stakeholders, promoting transparency and accountability.

Agile Lab recognizes that promoting an inclusive and equal culture contributes significantly to organizational well-being, customer satisfaction and the company's competitiveness in the long term. Diversity is considered a strategic resource for continuous improvement and sustainable development of the organization.

In Agile Lab the principle of zero tolerance towards any form of discrimination, harassment and mobbing in the workplace is important.

Within the system for the promotion of gender equality, the provision for the adoption and structuring of a set of performance indicators (KPI), in accordance with the characteristics of each organization, allows for the definition and maximization of specific objectives aimed at promoting the valorization and protection of diversity, equal opportunities in the workplace, the pursuit of gender equality, and the strengthening of female empowerment.

In this regard, a Strategic Plan is defined and periodically reviewed, detailing the identified objectives and indicating the methods for their pursuit.

Furthermore, a company committee for the promotion of gender equality is established, called Ethics & Inclusion Committee, which is responsible for the creation and maintenance of an adequate dedicated management system. The System Manager periodically reports to the Management on the activities carried out, in progress and planned, including the surveys (KPI) periodically carried out.

The approach of Agile Lab it is based on the attribution of roles and responsibilities on the basis of assessments deriving from training, skills, experiences, the aptitude shown in carrying out activities, and development potential.

In this context, diversity, in terms of personal characteristics and cultural backgrounds, represents a value for the company, facilitating opportunities for comparison, the development of multiple strategies and operating methods, the adoption of choices based on a better consideration of the reference context. Diversity that constitutes an asset for the company and that cannot determine, in any way, disparities in terms of training, evaluation of results, remuneration, career level.

In light of the above, the Management Agile Lab:

• undertakes to implement recruitment policies aimed at valorising experiences, skills and competences in relation to the internal roles to be filled; in the selection of candidates, priority attention is given to meritocracy, with attention to valorising diversity; the people involved in the selection phase expressly undertake to avoid prejudices that may negatively impact the process and to implement, in an effective manner, the principles on which gender equality is based;
• undertakes to guarantee staff equal access to roles of responsibility based on equal skills, qualifications and abilities;
• is committed to offering staff a fair level of remuneration based on the competence, ability and professional experience of each employee, with the aim of pursuing salary equity; in particular, the compensation process and, in general, the short and long-term incentive systems are based on the recognition of the results achieved, skills and responsibilities, taking market levels into consideration;
• is committed to implementing performance evaluation processes based on constant dialogue between managers and collaborators, with the definition of development plans free from elements of discrimination, but based exclusively on personal skills and, in general, on merit;
• is committed to ensuring mechanisms for protecting the workplace and maintaining the same level of pay after maternity leave;
• defines and implements specific career opportunity and salary monitoring activities;
• is actively committed to the family welfare of its staff, both in economic terms and in terms of flexible working hours and smart working; this facilitates the work-life balance, a key factor in supporting parenthood and family care in general;
• is committed to training and raising awareness among staff on issues relating to gender equality, such as inclusive language, gender stereotypes, prejudice, harassment, mobbing; promoting awareness of gender equality, in all areas of the company, is a value for Agile Lab, and the related responsibility is shared among all staff and collaborators of the company;
• activates specific training sessions on the topic of promoting inclusiveness;
• makes available secure mechanisms for reporting any anomalies or critical issues that may jeopardise the pursuit of gender equality, such as harassment, mobbing or discrimination;
• is committed to communicating, both internally and externally, its desire to pursue gender equality, enhance diversity and support female empowerment.

The Management Agile Lab strongly believes that an approach oriented towards gender equality, according to the actions reported above, brings with it significant advantages: first of all, in terms of the possibility of access, unconditionally, to competent and qualified personnel, as well as increasing the ability to retain its employees and collaborators, in particular by supporting the conciliation of private life and work times.

The presence of people of different genders, as well as different cultures and ethnicities, favors the creation of an environment in which the personal growth of each individual finds ample space. Furthermore, the performance of internal work groups is also facilitated.

A differentiated vision and the presence of multiple points of view are strategic elements for a more effective and efficient risk management and for the implementation of more thoughtful operational and strategic choices. Finally, the provision of objective methods for assigning internal roles and evaluating performance allows for more balanced analyses regarding the internal articulation of functions and the results achieved from time to time by them.

The Management Agile Lab also undertakes to ensure that this policy is:

• communicated and disseminated within the organization and to its stakeholders;
• subject of training and awareness-raising for company management;
• updated or confirmed periodically, under review, on the basis of events, changes and the results of monitoring and verifications;
• coordinated by a responsible figure, designated by management and in possession of organizational and gender skills.

In order to pursue the gender equality policy, a specific strategic plan for its implementation has been defined, setting a management model that guarantees, over time, the maintenance of the defined requirements, measuring the progress of the results through the preparation of specific KPIs. The latter have been identified on the basis of the 6 thematic areas indicated by UNI/PdR 125:2022, namely:

1. Culture and Strategy: improving the working environment by promoting inclusion, gender equality and the valorisation of gender diversity, overcoming stereotypes, discrimination or prejudices (even unconscious ones) relating to gender issues.
2. Governance: implementation of a governance model aimed at defining adequate organizational structures and the presence of the minority gender in the organization's management and control bodies, as well as the presence of processes aimed at identifying and remedying any form of non-inclusion.
3. HR Processes: implementation of HR processes relating to all aspects of the employment relationship such as hiring, onboarding, training, skills development, promotion, remuneration, termination, based on principles of inclusion and respect for diversity.
4. Growth opportunities and inclusion of women in the company: improving the organization's ability to offer gender-neutral internal career and growth paths.
5. Gender pay equity: implementation of processes for gender pay equity, including benefits and welfare systems.
6. Parental protection and work-life balance: implementing policies to support staff in their parenting and caring activities.

Diversity and plurality, for Agile Lab, represent a source of innovative ideas and high-level strategic approaches, as well as factors aimed at enabling equal opportunities for growth, on a personal and professional level, in objective and meritocratic terms.

An approach that promotes the development of internal skills, the inclusion of responsible figures with qualified skills, the creation of an internal culture based on the values of diversity and inclusion, an essential element for the sustainable growth of the company and, more generally, of the society in which it is part.

Any complaint regarding aspects pertaining to the application of the Gender Equality standard by Agile Lab (such as event of discrimination, mobbing, verbal/digital harassment, sexual harassment) can be forwarded directly to the following link.

Alternatively, if you want to submit a report in a nominative manner, you should fill in the form entitled ‘Gender Equality breach reporting system’ (English version)/'Parità di genere segnalazione violazioni' (Italian version) present on the company Sharepoint link, and send it to the e-mail address: genderequality.breach@agilelab.it.

In the event of reports of gender discrimination, violence or harassment at work that are not addressed or adequately addressed within the organization, the interested parties may contact the Equality Advisor competent for the territory.

The Equal Opportunity Advisors, appointed by the Provinces and Regions, operate in support of workers and can also take legal action in the event of discrimination, pursuant to art. 36 of Legislative Decree 198/2006.

Territorial references are available at the following link: National Equality Advisor – Ministry of Labour