Intellias signs Women’s Empowerment Principles

29 March 2021 y.

Intellias became the first IT company in Ukraine to sign the Women’s Empowerment Principles, initiated by the UN Global Compact and UN Women. Thus, the company has joined the global movement for gender equality in the workplace and in society, which already has more than 4.5 thousand companies worldwide, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, EY, Uber and others. The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) are a set of Principles offering guidance to business on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. These include promoting gender equality, equitable treatment of men and women at work, ensuring the health, safety and well-being of all workers, promoting the education, training and professional development of women, etc.

"Our main value is humanity; we are guided by it every day in making our decisions. That's why we put a lot of efforts to create comfortable working environment for our talented engineers, men and women, who create innovative IT solutions for companies around the world," — says Vitaly Sedler, CEO of Intellias. — "Signing WEP is another step towards ensuring gender equality in our company and disseminating best practices beyond it."

At Intellias, more than 25% of the team is women, and this percentage is steadily increasing. Half of them hold technical positions and are engaged in development, testing, business analytics and project management. It is important for the company to provide comfortable conditions for everyone. That's why we have a flexible schedule, healthy lifestyle programs and mental health care programs. After the quarantine, Intellias offices will resume operation of beauty salons and children's rooms with babysitters who can take care of children while their parents must work. For 2021, the company has defined an action plan for the implementation of WEPs, which includes: creating a strategy for gender equality, promoting professional and leadership development of women, organizing educational activities on non-discrimination and equal opportunities, and more.

Erika Kvapilova, Head of the UN Office for Women in Ukraine, encourages other businesses to support WEPs: “By signing WEPs, you are investing in the idea of gender equality for your business and the people you work with. You join a global network of companies with similar values and access tools, resources and training programs to empower women. Promoting equal opportunities in the workplace and in the labor market is beneficial to society; it is good for the economy; and it benefits everyone."

---

---

About WEPs

Women Empowerment Principles is an international initiative of the United Nations Women and the United Nations Global Compact. WEPs signatories are 4,595 companies from around the world. The official website of the weps.org initiative lists five signatory companies in Ukraine, including the only IT company Intellias.

About Intellias

Intellias is one of the largest IT companies in Ukraine, founded in Lviv in 2002. The company's Ukrainian offices are in Lviv, Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, and Ivano-Frankivsk. Intellias also has offices in Poland (Krakow) and offices in Germany (Berlin), the United States (Chicago, New York) and Saudi Arabia (Riyadh). Intellias now employs more than 1,500 professionals. In 2018, Intellias was included in the annual ranking of Inc. 5000 - a list of private companies that are developing most dynamically in Europe. That same year, Intellias attracted investment from Horizon Capital to expand its service delivery capabilities in Central and Eastern Europe. For many years in a row, Intellias is one of the best IT employers according to DOU.ua, and in 2018 and 2020 the company was named "Cyclist of the Year".