SSE's gender and ethnicity action plan

We have expanded our learning offerings to foster greater inclusion and support personal development within talent pipelines. This includes access to programs such as Everywoman, Learning Live sessions covering topics like impostor syndrome and personal resilience, senior leadership networking, alongside core inclusive offerings for all employees.   

We recognise the challenges in attracting women into engineering and craft roles and are committed to supporting more women entering the workplace. Initiatives include outreach and early career programs, internal communication campaigns, partnerships with external agencies for recruitment campaigns and spotlighting senior women in SSE through dedicated microsites and internal communications.   

Through our eight ‘Belonging in SSE’ communities’, including Gender Balance, Menopause, Working Families, we engage with employees to celebrate difference, build awareness and gauge colleague sentiment to drive change across the business. Each community has an Executive Committee sponsor and meets with the full Group Executive Committee once a year, and the Chairperson and Non-Executive Director for Engagement twice a year to support progress.

We have two Managing Director sponsors who champion ethnicity action and support the Ethnicity and Culture ‘Belonging in SSE’ community.    

Ethnicity data and disclosure rate increased to 77% (March 2025).

We have a zero-tolerance approach to harassment and bullying. See SSE’s Group Employment Policy.

Our ethnicity and culture ‘Belonging in SSE’ community develop allies. Our core inclusion and diversity module on allyship is promoted to all employees as part of onboarding and annual inclusion training.   

Our sustainable procurement code includes diversity requirements of suppliers, our Supplier Diversity Strategy is accessible to suppliers.

We set and publish board representation targets in line with the Parker review.

We have expanded our ambitions and published an ethnicity representation target for the executive level minus one by 2027. 

We voluntarily published our first UK Ethnicity Pay Gap statement in June 2024 and have committed to ongoing publication.

Our inclusion and diversity strategy is set up to foster inclusivity and fairness. Colleagues are supported to develop through learning and talent offerings 
 
Our 2024 employment survey showed an overall increase in inclusion sentiment for colleagues from under-represented groups.