Gender Equality Plan
Version 1.0 | Period 2026 to 2028 | Adopted 2 June 2026
Adopted by Jane Spirkoski, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, StemX Bio B.V.
Date of adoption 2 June 2026. This plan is reviewed annually and revised in full every two years. The CEO signs each new version.
1. Statement
StemX Bio B.V. is a Dutch private biotech research SME with nine employees. The company commits to a workplace where every person is treated fairly, recruited on merit, and supported in their career, regardless of gender, gender identity, or sex characteristics.
This Gender Equality Plan sets out the actions StemX Bio takes between 2026 and 2028 to advance gender equality across recruitment, career progression, leadership, research, and workplace culture. The plan aligns with Article 21 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Dutch equal treatment law (Algemene wet gelijke behandeling), and the Horizon Europe GEP eligibility criterion.
Top management endorses this plan and commits the human resources and expertise needed to deliver the actions. The plan is reviewed annually and revised every two years.
Jane Spirkoski
Co-founder and CEO, StemX Bio B.V. Date of adoption, 2 June 2026.
2. About StemX Bio and scope
StemX Bio is a private research SME based in the Netherlands, with a team of nine. The company was co-founded by a male CEO and a female Chief Scientific Officer, and co-founder leadership is gender-balanced. The current overall workforce is female-skewed, with over 60 percent women.
This plan applies to all employees, contractors, interns, and trainees, and to all candidates in recruitment. The plan covers all working arrangements, including remote work.
3. Governance, resources, and expertise
The plan is owned at top management level. Governance is lean and proportionate to the company size of nine.
- CEO. Signs the plan, allocates resources, and approves the annual review.
- Gender Equality Officer (GEO). The Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) holds this role. Time allocation is recorded in the job description at 0.05 FTE.
- All staff. Apply the policies, participate in awareness sessions, and use the reporting channels when needed.
Gender expertise is sourced through publicly available resources, including the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) GEAR tool, EIGE training resources, and the Dutch government and TNO equal treatment guidance. The GEO completes a self-directed learning programme using these resources within six months of the plan adoption and refreshes the learning annually. External pro bono advice is sought through sector networks where available. The company does not allocate a paid training budget at this stage, given the SME scale. The plan is reviewed if a budget becomes available.
4. Data collection and monitoring
StemX Bio collects sex and gender disaggregated data every year and produces a short internal report. A public summary is released every two years and published on the company website.
Minimum indicators tracked
- Headcount by gender.
- Gender split of recent recruitment funnel: applications, shortlists, hires.
- Pay range comparison by role family and gender.
- Use of parental leave by gender, and return-to-work rate.
- Number and outcome of harassment or discrimination reports.
- Gender dimension flagged in research projects.
Data is collected on a self-identification basis. Categories include woman, man, non-binary, prefer to self-describe, and prefer not to say. To protect privacy, figures are suppressed when fewer than three people fall in a category. Records are held by HR and the GEO.
5. Awareness raising and training
StemX Bio runs a lean, no-cost training programme using publicly available resources. The programme targets two groups, all staff and decision-makers, and explicitly covers unconscious gender bias.
| Audience | Topic and resource | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| All staff | Unconscious gender bias, inclusive language, bystander action, reporting channels. Self-paced learning using EIGE resources, Project Implicit gender test, and Athena SWAN open materials. A 60-minute team discussion follows. | Annual |
| Decision-makers (CEO, CSO, and team leads) | Bias in hiring and promotion, structured interviewing, performance review calibration. Self-study using EIGE Gender Equality Training resources, followed by a peer review session before key hiring or promotion decisions. | Annual and before each hire |
| New joiners | Equality policies, anti-harassment policy, reporting channels. Covered in onboarding. | On joining |
Evidence retained for each session includes the resources used, a short agenda, and an attendance list. The GEO holds these records.
6. Thematic areas, actions, and targets
6.1 Work-life balance and organizational culture
Building on the existing parental leave policy and anti-harassment policy.
| Action | Indicator and target | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Flexible and hybrid working | Written hybrid policy with flexible start, finish, and remote options. Target, 100 percent of eligible roles covered. | Q4 2026 |
| Parental leave guide | Plain language guide for expectant parents and managers, with a return-to-work meeting for every leaver. Target, 100 percent uptake. | Q3 2026 |
| Core meeting hours | Meetings scheduled between 10.00 and 16.00. Target, under 10 percent outside core hours. | Q3 2026 |
| Annual culture pulse | Anonymous survey on inclusion and respect, disaggregated by gender where numbers allow. Target, response rate above 80 percent given the team size. | Annual, Q4 |
6.2 Gender balance in leadership and decision-making
Co-founder leadership is gender balanced today, with a male CEO and a female CSO. The plan sustains this balance as the team grows.
| Action | Indicator and target | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Leadership gender balance | At least 40 percent of each gender across leadership and team-lead roles. Reported annually. | Maintain, review Q4 2028 |
| Balanced shortlists | Each shortlist for senior or scientific lead roles includes at least one candidate of each gender, where reasonable. Documented in the recruitment file. | From Q3 2026 |
| Decision body balance | Working groups, advisory boards, and hiring panels reflect minimum 40 percent of each gender, where the candidate pool allows. | From Q3 2026 |
6.3 Gender equality in recruitment and career progression
| Action | Indicator and target | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Inclusive job adverts | Adverts reviewed for gendered language using a free checker, such as the Gender Decoder. Target, 100 percent of new adverts pass review. | From Q3 2026 |
| Structured interviews | Standard interview kit with role-specific questions and scoring rubrics. Target, 100 percent of hires use the kit. | Q4 2026 |
| Annual pay range check | Mean salary by role family compared across gender, root causes logged. Target, gap explained or closed each year. | Annual, Q1 |
| Promotion criteria | Documented, gender-neutral criteria for raises and progression. Target, all decisions reference the criteria in writing. | Q3 2027 |
6.4 Integration of the gender dimension into research
| Action | Indicator and target | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Sex as a biological variable | Cell line and animal model studies include both sexes by default, with justification recorded when only one sex is used. Target, 100 percent of new study designs reviewed. | From Q4 2026 |
| Sex and gender disaggregated analysis | Where human-derived samples or data are used, analyses are stratified by sex and, where relevant, gender. Target, 100 percent of relevant projects. | From Q4 2026 |
| SAGER reporting | Publications and reports follow SAGER guidelines for sex and gender reporting. Target, 100 percent of new outputs compliant. | From Q1 2027 |
| Project initiation checklist | Gender dimension checklist embedded in the project template. Target, 100 percent of new projects screened. | Q4 2026 |
6.5 Measures against gender-based violence including sexual harassment
The existing anti-harassment policy is reinforced with clear reporting routes and external support.
| Action | Indicator and target | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-harassment policy refresh | Updated policy with definitions, examples, reporting routes, investigation steps, sanctions, and non-retaliation guarantees. Signed by the CEO and shared with all staff. | Q3 2026 |
| External vertrouwenspersoon | Named external confidential adviser, in line with Dutch practice. Target, contact details known to 100 percent of staff. | Q3 2026 |
| Internal contact | The Gender Equality Officer (CSO) serves as the internal confidential contact. Target, route known to 100 percent of staff. | Q3 2026 |
| Annual reminder | Annual all-hands session covering the policy, definitions, and routes to report. Target, 100 percent attendance. | Annual |
| Case tracking | Anonymised case log maintained by the GEO, reviewed annually by the CEO. | From Q4 2026 |
7. Publication and revision
This plan is published on the StemX Bio website at stemxbio.com, in a section titled Gender Equality Plan. Previous versions will be retained on this page as they are superseded.
The Gender Equality Officer reviews the plan with the CEO annually and revises the plan in full every two years. The CEO signs each new version.
| Version | Date | Summary of changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 2 June 2026 | Initial Gender Equality Plan adopted by the CEO. |
8. Contact
- Gender Equality Officer: the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO).
- General contact: info@stemxbio.com
- Website: stemxbio.com