Free period products are now being made available to colleagues at gas distribution network SGN thanks to a new partnership with social enterprise Hey Girls.
As part of a period dignity scheme, we’re supporting our people with free period products at our depots and offices across Scotland and southern England. On top of this, for every pack of tampons or pads we purchase, Hey Girls will donate the same to their community partners, including food banks, homeless shelters and refuges to help the fight against period poverty.
Set up in 2018, Hey Girls is the award-winning ‘buy one, donate one’ social enterprise, creating plant-powered period products that fund the fight against period poverty in the UK. Partnering with Hey Girls not only helps build inclusivity and a fairer workplace, it also helps some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
Our new partnership follows the creation of our women’s colleague network and the work they’re doing to support colleagues experiencing the menopause. This includes providing training to managers and educating people around the company about the symptoms and side effects of the menopause.
As part of our partnership with Hey Girls, we’ll also be educating colleagues about periods through their #Pads4Dads materials. 82% of our workforce is made up of men and, with four in ten dads having never learned about periods while at school, we want to make sure everyone we work with feels able to support people with periods.
Daisy Williams, Partnerships and Contracts Manager at Hey Girls, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to partner with SGN and see our products supplied to their staff throughout Scotland and southern England. The team at SGN are doing fantastic work in making the energy industry more diverse – and making free period products available in washrooms will definitely help on that mission.”
“Not only are they now supporting their workers through the period dignity scheme, but also our network of community partners and the one in ten people across the UK experiencing period poverty. We look forward to growing our partnership together and showcasing the benefits period dignity brings to the workplace.”
Emma-Jane Stewart, Employee Experience Manager at SGN, said: “Our partnership with Hey Girls is an important step for us showing how inclusive SGN and the wider energy industry is becoming. We’re delighted to be able to support our colleagues in this way as well as helping to work towards ending period poverty for Hey Girls’ community partners.”
