Our policies

Gender Equality Plan (GEP)

Basics
Public Document
Dedicated Resources
Data Collection and Monitoring
Training
Work-Life Balance and Organizational Culture
Gender Balance in Leadership and Decision-Making
Gender Equality in Recruitment and Career Progression
Integration of the Gender Dimension into Research and Content
Measures Against Gender-Based Violence, Including Sexual Harassment
Intersectional and Inclusive Approach
Governance and Accountability

1. Basics

Publication date: 23 Sept 2026
Period covered: 4 year
Approved and signed by: Kimberly McArthur, Co-CEO
Published at: www.betterpolitics.foundation
Working language: English
Responsible for implementation: Kimberly McArthur, Co-CEO

2. Public Document

This GEP is a formal document approved by BPF's leadership team and signed by Co-CEO Kimberly McArthur. It will be published on the Foundation's website and communicated internally through BPF's existing staff onboarding course and via Slack.

This GEP builds on BPF's existing Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity Policy, which commits the Foundation to non-discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, across hiring, firing, volunteer and vendor selection, and service provision, and to affirmative measures against discrimination in recruitment, compensation, termination, and promotion. This GEP will be reviewed annually.

3. Dedicated Resources

Responsibility for GEP implementation sits with Kimberly McArthur, Co-CEO. Rather than a fixed monthly allocation, staff time is committed to three concrete activities each year: organizing and delivering the annual staff training session (Section 4), collecting and reviewing headcount, seniority, and turnover data by gender (Section 3), and conducting the annual GEP review (Section 11). This amounts to approximately 3-4 days per year.

Due to our team size being under 20 people, no dedicated budget line exists for gender equality work; implementation is resourced as staff time within existing roles.

4. Data Collection and Monitoring

BPF currently records headcount, seniority, pay, and leave data by gender. Composition as of Sept 2026: board 2F/2M; senior leadership 5F/1M; staff 13F/5M.

Going forward, BPF commits to:

Collecting headcount and seniority data by gender on an ongoing basis;
Reviewing this data annually;
Publishing gender balance figures on the Foundation's website;
Tracking gender balance at each organizational level and staff turnover by gender as core indicators.

5. Training

BPF has not previously run formal gender equality training for its staff. It has delivered training on unconscious bias. BPF commits to an annual, self-run, all-staff training session on gender equality and bias, delivered internally and integrated into the Foundation's existing onboarding infrastructure.

6. Work-Life Balance and Organizational Culture

BPF operates a hybrid working model (three remote days, two office days per week) and offers statutory parental, carer and holiday leave and additional leave days equaling approximately 22 additional holiday days per calendar year. It is a time-flexible workplace with parents regularly allowed to manage their work around children’s needs.

7. Gender Balance in Leadership and Decision-Making

Current gender balance is set out in Section 3 (board 2F/2M; senior leadership 5F/1M). BPF does not commit to a quantitative target, such as 50/50, for gender balance in leadership; progress is monitored through the data collection process in Section 3 rather than pursued against a fixed numeric goal.

Hiring processes at BPF are carried out collectively across the team (13F/5M) rather than by a narrow group. The gender composition of hiring decision-makers reflects the broader senior leadership composition (5F/1M) already set out in Section 3.

8. Gender Equality in Recruitment and Career Progression

BPF publishes salary bands to staff and operates annual performance reviews in addition to regular 1:1s. BPF commits to mixed-gender interview panels and structured interview questions for all hires, and to transparent progression criteria supported by regular reviews.

9. Integration of the Gender Dimension into Research and Content

BPF integrates gender into its research by design: surveys on the experiences of politicians consistently capture gender, including whether respondents identify beyond the gender binary, and a significant portion of BPF's substantive work is conducted with women politicians and emerging leaders, including through international networks. Gender-disaggregated data collection is standard practice in this research, though not currently governed by a written research protocol.

BPF also asks survey respondents how they identify in terms of ethnicity, LGBTQI+ community membership, and age, and sometimes disability, though less frequently than the other dimensions. Whether and how each of these is collected depends on the cultural and legal standards of the relevant country.

10. Measures Against Gender-Based Violence, Including Sexual Harassment

BPF has drafted a standalone Anti-Harassment and GBV Safeguarding Policy (September 2026). The policy covers reporting (raised with either Co-CEO, with a fallback to the Executive Board Chair where a complaint involves a Co-CEO directly), a defined investigation and response process with explicit anti-retaliation protection, and safeguarding provisions for staff working directly on GBV/TFGBV research and programs, covering digital safety and protocols for contact with survivors, the specifics of which are still being finalized. All staff receive annual training on recognizing and responding to harassment as part of BPF's gender equality training (Section 4).

Given BPF's mission on gender-based violence against women and LGBTIQ+ people in public life, this policy is a direct extension of the Foundation's programmatic work rather than a standalone compliance exercise.

11. Intersectional and Inclusive Approach

BPF collects nationality data on staff in addition to reported gender. This GEP explicitly addresses intersectionality and LGBTIQ+ inclusion, in line with BPF's focus on technology-facilitated gender-based violence against women and LGBTIQ+ people in public life.

12. Governance and Accountability

Internal approval: Approved by BPF leadership.
Progress review: Reviewed annually by leadership.
Complaint or grievance mechanism: in normal instances, Co-CEO Suki Capobianco
Next review date: September 2027

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Anti-Harassment Policy

Purpose
Scope
Definitions
Prohibited Conduct
Reporting
Investigation and Response
Training
Safeguarding for Staff Working on GBV/TFGBV Research and Programs
Review

1. Purpose

This policy sets out BPF's commitment to preventing and responding to harassment, including sexual harassment, and to safeguarding staff who work directly with survivors, sensitive content, or hostile online environments as part of BPF's programmatic and research work on gender-based violence (GBV). It sits alongside BPF's existing Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity Policy and BPF's Gender Equality Plan, and should be read together with them.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all BPF staff, contractors, interns, volunteers, and board members, in all work settings including remote work, travel, and BPF-organized events.

3. Definitions

Harassment: unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that violates a person's dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.
Sexual harassment: unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal, or physical.
Gender-based violence (GBV): any harmful act directed against a person because of their gender, including technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) such as online harassment, doxxing, and image-based abuse.

4. Prohibited Conduct

Prohibited conduct includes, but is not limited to: unwelcome comments or jokes of a sexual or discriminatory nature; unwanted physical contact or threats of unwanted physical contact; sharing or threatening to share intimate images without consent; targeted online harassment of colleagues; and retaliation against anyone who raises a concern in good faith under this policy.

5. Reporting

Concerns can currently be raised with either Co-CEO Kimberly McArthur or Co-CEO Suki Capobianco. Reports will be treated confidentially to the extent possible and taken seriously regardless of the seniority of those involved.

6. Investigation and Response

Reports are acknowledged within 5 working days of receipt. Investigations are handled by Co-CEO Suki Capobianco in the ordinary case. Where the complaint involves that person directly, it is instead referred to Executive Board Chair Lisa Witter. Investigations are completed within 20 working days where possible, extended only when genuinely necessary, with both parties kept informed throughout. Possible outcomes include: no further action; informal resolution; a formal warning; disciplinary action up to and including termination; and referral to external authorities where the conduct may be criminal. Anyone who raises a concern in good faith, or participates as a witness, is protected from retaliation, which is itself treated as a serious violation of this policy.

7. Training

All staff receive training on recognising and responding to harassment as part of BPF's annual gender equality training (see BPF's Gender Equality Plan, Section 4).

8. Safeguarding for Staff Working on GBV/TFGBV Research and Programs

Given BPF's mission on gender-based violence against women and LGBTIQ+ people in public life, additional safeguarding measures apply to staff who engage with survivors, sensitive content, or hostile online environments as part of their work:

Digital safety: Given that BPF staff engage with hostile online environments as part of the Foundation's work on technology-facilitated gender-based violence, BPF provides guidance on securing personal and work accounts and devices, including strong password practice, two-factor authentication, and review of account privacy settings. Staff who are personally targeted with online abuse or harassment because of their work have a defined point of contact (see Section 5) and can expect practical support, including help documenting the abuse and adjusting the visibility of personal accounts. Digital safety guidance is refreshed periodically, particularly for staff engaging directly with hostile online actors or abusive content as part of their research.
Protocols for contact with survivors: BPF obtains informed consent from research participants and survivors before any interview or data collection, including a clear explanation of the research's purpose and use of their information, and their right to withdraw at any point without consequence. Staff provide participants with referral pathways to relevant external support services, appropriate to the participant's country and context, proactively and regardless of whether the participant discloses distress. Staff do not request detail beyond what the research purpose requires, and participants may decline any question without needing to give a reason.

9. Review

This policy is reviewed annually alongside BPF's Gender Equality Plan. Next review: Sept 2027

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