| Gender equality plan Research for Purpose GmbH. Adopted on February 9th, 2026. Next review due on February 1st, 2028. |
1. Purpose and scope
Research for Purpose GmbH is an independent social research consultancy registered in Germany. This plan sets out how the company promotes gender equality in the way it is run and in the research it produces.
The company mostly delivers its work through a network of experts, so the plan applies for contracted work as well as for employment, and the commitments that depend on having employees take effect with the first employment contract. The company works from evidence that already exists, through desk research, synthesis and the analysis of secondary data, and it does not collect data from respondents itself.
2. Principles
Everyone who works for the company or with it is equally respected and equally valued, and opportunity and outcome do not depend on gender. Inequality is structural as well as individual, and unconscious bias plays a part in it, so the company treats its own procedures as something to examine and not as something neutral.
3. Where the company stands
The company contracted 21 collaborators in the past two years, of whom 10 were women, and 7 held lead responsibility on a project. The founder is the sole owner and the only decision maker. No gender equality training has been recorded since the company was founded. This plan starts from that position, and section 13 sets out what changes it and by when.
4. Status, adoption and publication
This is a formal document of Research for Purpose GmbH, adopted by Remy Smida, founder and managing director. The signed copy is held at the registered office and is available on request. The plan is published on its website, and superseded versions stay online.
5. Responsibility, resources and expertise
The founder is accountable for the plan and is the point of contact on gender equality for collaborators and partners. The company sets aside 2 working days each year for training, monitoring and external advice. Where a question calls for expertise the company does not hold, an external expert is brought in and the contract is kept as evidence.
6. Monitoring
From the date this plan is adopted, the company records by gender who works for it, in what role, on what type of contract and at what fee or salary level, together with training taken and any complaints made. Gender is recorded by self-identification, with the option to decline, and the data is handled under the GDPR.
Every two years the founder compiles a summary against the indicators in section 15. The numbers involved are small, so a figure that could identify an individual is reported as a range. The summary is published alongside this plan, and the first one falls due in February 2027.
7. Training
The founder, and anyone else with authority over hiring, contracting or project design, completes training on gender equality at least once every two years, and that training covers unconscious gender bias explicitly. Collaborators receive this plan when they are contracted. Attendance records and certificates are kept.
8. Work-life balance and organisational culture
Hours are flexible and work is remote by default Deadlines are agreed with the person doing the work. Anyone who turns down an assignment because of caring responsibilities or leave is not disadvantaged when later work is allocated, and employed staff take parental and family care leave under their local laws.
9. Gender balance in leadership and decision-making
The company has a single owner, so balance at board level carries little meaning at this size. Where the company forms a project team, an advisory group or a consortium under its own lead, it aims for a mixed composition, and it records the reason when the available pool of qualified people does not allow one. The same applies to the events, panels and webinars the company organises, and to the experts it selects to interview or to cite as authorities.
10. Recruitment and career progression
Positions and assignments are advertised in gender-neutral language and in line with the Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz. Selection criteria are set before applications are reviewed. A career break is not counted as a gap in experience. Fees and salaries follow role, scope and experience, and people doing comparable work are paid comparably.
11. Integration of the gender dimension into research
Each study is assessed at proposal stage for whether sex and gender bear on the research question, on the sources selected and on the analysis. Where they do, the analysis is disaggregated as far as the source data allows. Where a dataset records no gender, or covers one gender only, the limitation is stated in the report. Reporting avoids presenting a gendered pattern as a natural fact where the evidence points to a social cause. If a project requires primary data collection, that work is subcontracted, and the company asks the subcontractor for informed consent procedures and a duty of care towards participants.
12. Harassment and gender-based violence
The company does not tolerate sexual harassment, gender-based violence or harassment on the grounds of gender identity, whether between people working for the company or in dealings with clients, partners and subcontractors. This covers unwanted physical contact, sexual propositions, remarks about a person’s body or private life, and language that condones violence against women or perpetuates harmful gender stereotypes.
Anyone who experiences or witnesses such behaviour can raise it with the founder. Where the matter concerns the founder, it can be raised with senior collaborators from Research for Purpose. Reports are handled promptly and confidentially, the person reporting is protected from retaliation, and a substantiated report can lead to termination of a contract.
The company supports anyone experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault, including by granting appropriate leave, adjusting assignments and accommodating flexible hours, and it can point a person towards specialist support services.
13. Action plan
The table below sets out what the company does to give effect to this plan, and by when. Short term means within twelve months of adoption, medium term within twenty-four months, and continuing means from adoption onwards.
| Goal | Action | Timing |
| 1. Record keeping | Begin the records described in section 6 and apply them to every new contract | Short term, within three months |
| 2. Training | The founder completes training on gender equality and unconscious bias, after which the two-yearly cycle applies | Short term |
| 3. Contracts and templates | Revise the standard collaborator contract and the standard proposal template so that they refer to this plan and to the assessment described in section 11 | Short term |
| 4. Gender balance among collaborators | Widen the pool the company contracts from, and record the composition of each shortlist | Continuing |
| 5. Gender balance in lead roles | Offer lead responsibility on projects across the collaborator network, and record the cases where the qualified pool does not allow a mixed choice | Medium term |
| 6. Balanced representation in public | Seek a mixed composition among the speakers on panels and events the company organises, and among the experts it interviews or cites as authorities | Continuing |
| 7. Reporting | Publish the first monitoring summary alongside this plan | Medium term, within twenty-four months |
14. Implementation
The company has no committee and no separate gender equality unit, so responsibility sits with the founder throughout. The table records the resources each action draws on and where it is reported.
| Action | Resources | Responsible | Reported |
| 1. Record keeping | Founder’s time, using the contracting records already kept for accounting | Founder | Monitoring summary |
| 2. Training | The annual allocation described in section 5 | Founder | Monitoring summary, with certificates retained as evidence |
| 3. Contracts and templates | Founder’s time, with external legal advice if needed | Founder | Monitoring summary |
| 4. Gender balance among collaborators | Founder’s time, professional networks and rosters | Founder | Monitoring summary |
| 5. Gender balance in lead roles | Project budgets | Founder | Monitoring summary |
| 6. Balanced representation in public | Project and event budgets | Founder | Monitoring summary |
| 7. Reporting | The days allocated in section 5 | Founder | Published on the company website |
15. Targets and monitoring indicators
Each indicator is reviewed every two years and reported in the monitoring summary. Where the number of people involved is too small to publish without identifying someone, the figure is given as a range.
| Area | Indicator | Target |
| Collaborators | Gender composition of the people contracted during the period | A mixed composition, with the reason recorded where the qualified pool does not allow one |
| Lead roles | Gender composition of those holding lead responsibility on a project | As above |
| Pay | Median fee paid for comparable work, compared by gender | No difference that role, scope and experience do not explain |
| Training | Training completed by the founder and by anyone with authority over hiring, contracting or project design | One session covering unconscious bias every two years, completed by everyone in that group |
| Research | Studies assessed at proposal stage for the gender dimension | All studies |
| Public representation | Gender composition of speakers at events the company organises, and of the experts it interviews or cites | A mixed composition where the pool allows one |
| Complaints | Reports made under section 12 and how they were resolved | Every report recorded and concluded |
16. Review and contact
The plan is reviewed every two years alongside the monitoring summary, and sooner if the company takes on employees or changes its legal form. Each review checks progress against section 13 and sets the actions for the following period. Questions about the plan, and reports made under section 12, go to remy.smida@researchforpurpose.com.
Adoption
Adopted on 09/02/2026 by:
Remy Smida,
Founder and managing director, Research for Purpose GmbH