For a long time Meridian has had a strong culture around being a diverse and inclusive organisation. They won the Progressive Award at 2018’s Equal Pay Awards and gained the GenderTick in 2019. Vicki Bazalo, Head of Remuneration and Policy at Meridian, talked to us about the GenderTick journey.

We have goals around gender diversity that we have already surpassed and we keep on setting new goals to get more of a gender balance throughout the organisation. Getting the GenderTick was just the next stage in that process. It was a public affirmation that we're not just here to tick a box. We're here for the long haul and we want to keep moving on this journey. 

One of our values that we have for all our people is “being a good human”, we want to be good humans and the GenderTick fits so well in that.

I've been at Meridian Energy for about five years and as Head of Remuneration and HR Policy I look after everything to do with our remuneration packages, HR policies, and benefits. I've got a real passion around things to do with gender and I've been involved in that for the last ten years. In particular, how to progress women in leadership and equal Pay. 

Getting the GenderTick has made me feel immensely proud to work for Meridian. We're genuinely committed to achieving gender equality across the organisation. People feel really proud that they are working for an organisation that is really active in this space so that makes me feel great.

One of the examples that we’ve really been working on a lot over the last couple years is around how we recruit people into the organisation. We actively target people of all genders and require a gender balance on our selection panels. It’s not just a bunch of men interviewing people and it's not just a bunch of women interviewing people. It's a mix. We make sure that we have a gender mix on the short list as well. That enables us to get more and more women into roles, and particularly in senior roles which is where all organisations struggle to get a good gender mix.