Corporate Gender Equality Policies

The primary objective of ACSQ SRL, in carrying out its certification activities, is to comply with binding laws, regulations, and standards at the European, national, regional, and local levels. This includes adhering to voluntary standards, particularly with reference to the requirements of the UNI EN ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 standard, the Accreditation Body’s regulations, as well as the prescriptive documents defined by the Organization (manuals, procedures, instructions, etc.).

In carrying out this activity, ACSQ SRL is consistently guided by the principles of impartiality, competence, accountability, transparency, confidentiality, and effectiveness in managing complaints as defined by the accreditation standards.

It also commits to embracing the principles of gender equality throughout the entire professional journey and life stages of its female employees, with the aim not only of increasing female representation in the workplace but also of ensuring equal career opportunities—even for the highest leadership roles—equal economic treatment, work-life balance conditions suitable for different life stages, and proactive measures to rebalance family responsibilities between men and women, as well as fostering a work environment that rejects stereotypes, discrimination, and any form of physical, verbal, or digital abuse, while promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion.

ACSQ considers any act or behavior constituting harassment or violence in the workplace unacceptable, and it commits to taking appropriate measures against those responsible. Furthermore, it recognizes that the dignity of individuals cannot be violated by acts or behaviors that constitute harassment or violence, and that any such conduct must be reported. Within the company, everyone has the duty to contribute to maintaining a work environment where each individual's dignity is respected and where interpersonal relationships based on principles of equality and mutual fairness are encouraged.

In this regard, the management of ACSQ has decided to adopt a management system in compliance with the gender equality guidelines UNI/PdR 125:2022, by implementing instructions and procedures proportional to the “Micro” size profile and the type of activity (ATECO classification letter “M”, code “09”), in order to ensure the ongoing fulfillment of the requirements for:

1. Recruitment and hiring;
2. Career management;
3. Salary equity;
4. Parenthood and care;
5. Work-life balance;
6. Prevention of any form of physical, verbal, or digital abuse in the workplace.

To ensure the effectiveness of the system, the management has:

1. Appointed a Steering Committee composed of the Sole Administrator and the Technical Director, who serves as the Human Resources Manager;
2. Identified applicable indicators in the following areas:
   1. Culture and strategy (5.2);
   2. Governance (5.3);
   3. HR processes (5.4);
   4. Opportunities for growth and inclusion of women in the company (5.5);
   5. Gender pay equity (5.6);
   6. Protection of parenthood and work-life balance (5.7).
3. Developed, in consultation with the Steering Committee, a strategic plan that defines, for each theme identified in the policy, objectives that are simple, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound, and assigned as implementation responsibilities.

The management is continuously committed to upholding the principles contained in this policy, also by:

1. Communicating and disseminating it within the organization and to its stakeholders;
2. Including it in training and awareness initiatives for company management;
3. Reviewing or confirming it periodically during the Management Review, based on events, changes, and the results of monitoring and evaluations;
4. Coordinating it through the Technical Director, designated by management and possessing the necessary organizational and gender expertise;
5. Making it available on the ACSQ website;
6. Allocating adequate resources, responsibilities, and authority for the pursuit, achievement, and maintenance of the established gender equality objectives.

By adopting and maintaining this management system, ACSQ, as an accredited certification body, aims to initiate third-party certification activities for organizations that have likewise implemented a management system in accordance with UNI/PdR 125:2022.

The policy stated herein is therefore implemented with the objective of pursuing the continuous improvement of its management system for gender equality, the quality of the certification service offered to its clients, and the satisfaction of all stakeholders.

16/06/2023
THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
Alessio Aliani