Since early 2024, GWR has partnered with Real Links with a clear and ambitious goal: to attract more women into roles across the rail industry — a sector where female representation has historically been low.

GWR’s commitment to diversity and inclusion runs deep, grounded in the belief that a more representative workforce drives better decision-making, stronger customer relationships, and greater innovation.

“Increasing the number of women across our workforce isn’t just a hiring target — it’s a strategic business priority,” says Shivangy Singh, Senior Resourcing Business Partner at GWR. “Together with Real Links, GWR launched a focused, purpose-led campaign that empowered employees to become active advocates for change” — resulting in a remarkable rise in female applicant share, from just 5% to 27%."

Challenge and Objectives

Attracting more women into rail is an industry-wide challenge, and GWR was determined to lead the way. Despite strong internal commitment, their female applicant share remained low, hovering around 5%. Traditional job board advertising alone wasn’t shifting the dial — the team needed a new approach that would:

• Reach women outside traditional talent pipelines

• Leverage internal advocates to spread an authentic message

• Increase awareness of GWR as an inclusive employer

And they wanted to do it in a way that aligned with GWR’s values and empowered the people who know the business best: their employees.

The Solution: Employee Advocacy Meets Targeted Content

Together, GWR and Real Links created a campaign built on real connection and authentic voices. The focus: mobilising GWR’s Employee Resource Group to lead the charge in promoting roles and raising awareness among women in their networks.

Real Links provided:

• A seamless platform for employees to share jobs and stories across their own networks

• Real-time tracking to identify where impact was being made

• A structured campaign toolkit with pre-approved content focused on women in rail

By giving the Employee Resource Group ownership, the campaign tapped into a trusted community of voices that women could relate to and believe in.
And it worked.

In just a few weeks, the campaign led to a 5x increase in female application share — jumping from 5% to an impressive 27%.

To drive participation, Real Links and GWR introduced rewards and a gamified leaderboard — with the top three most active participants receiving £100, £75, and £50 vouchers for the GWR reward shop. The collective goal also had real meaning: every action supported Women’s Aid, adding purpose to every share.

Employees were met where they are, through Real Links’ Teams integration, with automated messages making it easy and intuitive to take part.

Why Diversity Matters to GWR

For GWR, creating a diverse workforce is more than just the right thing to do — it’s essential to their long-term success. A diverse team brings different perspectives to the table, better reflects the communities GWR serves, and drives more inclusive decision-making.

Women remain significantly underrepresented in the rail industry. By actively working to change that, GWR is building a more resilient, forward-thinking workforce — one where every employee can thrive and contribute fully.

This campaign is just one step in a broader journey toward greater inclusion — but the results show what’s possible when you combine smart technology with authentic, human storytelling.

Looking Ahead: Building on Momentum

With this success under their belt, GWR is now exploring how to scale the campaign further and embed advocacy and inclusivity deeper into their hiring strategy.

Real Links will continue to support GWR with:

• Insights into campaign performance and diversity metrics

• Ongoing employee advocacy initiatives

• Scalable frameworks to target other underrepresented groups

Together, they’re proving that when employees are empowered to be storytellers, change happens — and progress is made.