When SMI was recognised as a Most Improved Charter Signatory in 2024, the numbers told an important part of the story.
Since 2021, overall gender balance has increased from 24% to 31%, while female recruitment has risen from 32% to 44%. Employee engagement has reached 93%, and the gender pay gap in technical production roles has reduced to 6%.
But for SMI, the significance of the award goes beyond the statistics. As an SME operating in a highly technical part of the defence sector, progress has come from being prepared to look closely at how people are recruited, supported and developed – and then making practical changes where they are needed.
We spoke to Jenny Shaw about what SMI has learned, why being an SME can be an advantage when driving change, and why smaller organisations need to be part of the defence sector’s conversation about its future workforce.
What does being recognised in this category say about SMI’s journey?
For us, it showed that you can make real, measurable change without being a huge organisation or having enormous resources behind you.
As an SME, we have to be very focused on what actually makes a difference. We can see who we are recruiting, who is progressing, who is staying and where there might be barriers. More importantly, we can do something about it.
The award gave us an opportunity to look back and recognise how much had changed. We had increased female recruitment and representation, improved engagement and made progress on pay equity. None of that happened because of one big initiative. It came from lots of decisions and changes over time.
That is important because SMEs employ and develop a significant part of the defence workforce. We have a real role in changing what that workforce looks and feels like.
Where have you made the most meaningful progress?
Recruitment is obviously an important part of it, and increasing female recruitment from 32% to 44% is something we are proud of. But bringing people into the organisation is only worthwhile if you create an environment where they can build a career and want to stay.
That has meant looking at the whole employee experience rather than treating recruitment, retention and progression as separate issues.
One of the biggest changes has been around flexibility. Part-time roles have increased from 6% to 30%, alongside greater use of hybrid working, flexitime and condensed hours. In a technical and production environment, people sometimes assume there is very little room for flexibility. We have challenged some of those assumptions and looked at what is genuinely possible.
It has helped us create more sustainable career pathways, but it has also made us a stronger employer overall.
What has helped you turn commitment into practical action?
Visibility has made a big difference. We report quarterly to the Board on gender balance across recruitment, attrition and length of service. That means we aren't relying on a general sense that things are improving. We can see where progress is happening and where it isn't, and ask why.
Being an SME helps here. There aren't multiple layers between identifying something and being able to change it. If people tell us that something isn't working, or the data shows us there is an issue, we can have that conversation and respond relatively quickly.
The Charter gives us a framework and something to measure ourselves against, but ultimately it has to translate into what people experience when they come to work. That is where the difference is made.
Which approaches have been particularly useful?
Listening to people and then being prepared to act on what they tell you. It sounds incredibly simple, but organisations can spend a lot of time talking about inclusion without necessarily looking at the practical things that affect somebody's working life.
For us, that has meant looking at recruitment, development, working patterns and pay, but also understanding where the barriers might be in technical roles in particular. Some changes can be quite small, but collectively they make a significant difference.
We have also found that the things you do to make the organisation more inclusive generally make it better for everybody. Flexibility is a good example. It may help remove a particular barrier for women, but the benefit is much wider than that.
That is why we don't see inclusion as something sitting separately from business performance. It is part of building the workforce and capability we need.
What insight from SMI’s experience would you share with others?
Don't underestimate the role SMEs can play. A lot of the defence sector conversation naturally focuses on the large primes and OEMs. They are hugely important, but thousands of people experience defence through smaller businesses like ours. This is where people develop technical skills, build careers and form their view of whether defence is a sector in which they belong.
If we want the defence workforce to become more representative, change has to happen there too.
SMEs can also be incredibly agile. We might not have the resources of a large organisation, but we can often see very quickly whether something is working and make changes without navigating layers of process.
There is a tendency to think scale is necessary to make an impact. Our experience has been that focus, leadership and a willingness to act matter just as much.
What would you say to organisations considering entering this year?
Do it for the process as much as the recognition. Entering makes you stop and look properly at what has changed. Where have you actually made progress? What can you evidence? Where haven't you moved as far as you thought?
That can be particularly valuable for SMEs because we are often very focused on delivery and moving on to the next challenge. Taking the time to examine the progress you have made – and the areas where there is still more to do - is worthwhile.
It is also important that SMEs put themselves forward. Smaller organisations are an essential part of the defence ecosystem and our experiences need to be visible within the wider conversation about the sector's workforce.
You don't need to have solved everything. What matters is being able to show that you understand where you are, that you are making meaningful progress and that you are committed to continuing the journey.