Gender Equality Plan

1Our commitment

Global SoLARK Limited is committed to gender equality. We want everyone who works with us, applies to us or relies on the systems we build to be treated fairly, whatever their sex or gender identity.

We are a small practice, and this plan is written to be proportionate to that. Every commitment below is one we can resource and act on now, and the plan is designed to grow with the company rather than be rewritten as it does.

The plan applies to our directors, employees, contractors and job applicants, and to the way we conduct client engagements. Section 8 extends it to the technology we design and deliver, because for a company that builds AI and data systems, fairness in the product matters as much as fairness in the office.

2Responsibility and resources

• Our Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rama Krishna Aditya Bharadwaj Kolluri, is accountable for this plan and for reporting progress against it to the company's directors.
• Time to deliver the plan is part of the CEO's role, not an unfunded extra. Where specialist input is needed, such as external training or an independent investigation, we will fund it.
• Progress against this plan is reviewed at least once a year as a standing item of director-level business.

3Data collection and monitoring

• We record sex and gender data for our people and job applicants, covering headcount, roles and seniority, recruitment outcomes, pay, promotion, and leave and flexible working arrangements.
• Providing this information is always voluntary, and every form offers a “prefer not to say” option.
• The data is kept separate from application and personnel files, is never used to make decisions about individuals, is used only to monitor equality, and is processed in line with UK data protection law.
• We review the data every year and record any gap we find, together with the action we will take on it.
• Because our team is small, some figures could identify individuals. We will publish headline figures only where groups are large enough to keep people anonymous, and otherwise report them to the directors internally.

4Training and awareness

• Everyone who joins us is introduced to this plan, and to how to raise a concern, during their induction.
• Anyone involved in hiring, promotion or pay decisions completes training on fair selection and unconscious bias before taking part, and refreshes it at least every two years.
• All staff complete training on preventing sexual harassment and on how to respond to it.
• People who design or evaluate data and AI systems receive guidance on identifying and testing for gender bias, as described in section 8.

5Work-life balance and organisational culture

• We consider requests for flexible working from an employee's first day, and we give reasons when a request cannot be agreed.
• Internal meetings are held within core hours, and remote attendance is supported by default.
• We support people taking maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, neonatal care and carer's leave, and we plan a return to work with each person rather than for them.
• Time spent on caring responsibilities or leave is not held against anyone when we make decisions about work allocation, pay or progression.
• We expect respectful, inclusive conduct in every setting where we represent the company: in the office, online, at client sites and at events.

6Gender balance in leadership and decision-making

• Leadership and decision-making roles are filled against written, role-related criteria that are agreed before candidates are considered.
• As the company grows, we will aim for gender balance on any board, leadership team and decision-making panel, and we will record the steps taken where balance is not yet possible.
• We will not organise single-gender panels, and we will ask about panel balance before accepting speaking invitations.

7Recruitment and career progression

• Job adverts use inclusive language, separate essential from desirable requirements, and state the salary range.
• Every candidate for a role is assessed against the same criteria and asked the same core questions, and the reasons for each decision are recorded.
• We never ask candidates about marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy, family plans or caring responsibilities.
• Pay, promotion and development opportunities are decided against documented criteria. Our annual data review checks those decisions for any gender gap that the criteria do not explain.
• Job descriptions are reviewed before each hiring round to remove wording or requirements that could discourage applicants without being necessary for the role.

8Gender in the systems we design and build

We design and build data platforms and AI systems that inform decisions about people. A system can treat people unfairly even when nobody intended it to, so gender equality is part of how we specify, test and hand over our work.

• Where a system recommends, matches, ranks or classifies people, we test whether its results differ by gender, where lawful and appropriate data is available to do so. We test before release and again after significant changes.
• We do not use gender, or data that acts as a close proxy for it, as an input to automated decisions about people unless there is a documented, lawful and necessary reason.
• We check training and reference data for under-representation, and we record known gaps and limitations in the documentation we hand over.
• Forms and data models we design collect gender only where it is needed, offer inclusive options, and include “prefer not to say”.
• We tell clients plainly what we tested, what we found and what we could not test.

In a careers-matching system such as STUDiPort, for example, this means checking that students with equivalent skills and results receive equivalent job and course recommendations, whatever their gender.

9Preventing harassment and gender-based violence

• Sexual harassment, gender-based harassment, bullying and violence are not tolerated, whether the person responsible is a colleague, a client, a contractor or a member of the public.
• This applies in person and online, at work and at work-related events or activities, including those outside normal working hours.
• We take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and we review those steps each year alongside this plan.
• Every concern is handled promptly, investigated fairly and kept as confidential as possible, sharing details only with those who need them to deal with it. Where specialist or independent handling is needed, we will arrange it.
• Nobody will be victimised or treated less favourably for raising a concern, or for supporting someone who does.
• People affected will be offered support, including changes to working arrangements while a concern is looked into.

10Raising a concern

If you have experienced or witnessed behaviour that goes against this plan, or you have a question about it, contact Rama Krishna Aditya Bharadwaj Kolluri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), at hello@globalsolark.co.uk.

If your concern involves the CEO, say so when you get in touch. Another director will handle it, the CEO will take no part in investigating or deciding it, and we will appoint an external adviser where independent handling is needed.

For free, confidential advice from outside the company, you can contact Acas or the Equality Advisory and Support Service.

11Legal and policy framework

This plan supports, and does not replace, our legal obligations. These include the Equality Act 2010; the preventative duty on sexual harassment introduced by the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023; and UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The plan is structured around the European Commission's guidance on Gender Equality Plans. That guidance covers a public, signed document; dedicated resources; data collection and monitoring; training; and the thematic areas addressed in sections 5 to 9.

12Approval, publication and review

• This plan was approved on behalf of Global SoLARK Limited by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on 12 August 2026.
• It is published on our website and is available on request in other formats.
• Progress is reviewed every year, and the full plan is reviewed at least every two years, or sooner if the company or the law changes significantly.

Rama Krishna Aditya Bharadwaj Kolluri
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), for and on behalf of Global SoLARK Limited
Approved 12 August 2026