We work in fields that are not neutral. The products, services and learning we build shape who has access to work, whose knowledge is valued, who is invited to design solutions, and which forms of exclusion are reproduced or challenged. For this reason, gender equality, inclusion and social justice are not communication topics for us: they are part of how we recruit, work, decide, design, teach, partner, measure and improve.
We are not starting from zero. VLK already works remote-first, judges work by outcomes rather than hours, and turns learning into real opportunities through the Aurora ecosystem. We also have work to do: we operate in a technology sector where women and other underrepresented groups still face barriers, and this is reflected in our own team and ownership, especially in technical roles. We do not want to hide this. We want to address it with discipline: the difficulty of hiring women into technology is, for us, a design challenge, not an excuse.
Our principles
- Fairness before reputation. We pursue inclusion because it is fair, not because people must prove they make the company more profitable.
- Capability-first inclusion. Skills build confidence, autonomy and a better future, especially for those often kept at the edge of high-quality digital work.
- Flexibility with clarity. Our remote-first, outcome-based model is an inclusion asset, supported by clear expectations and real boundaries.
- Accountability without fear. People can raise concerns without being punished, ignored or dismissed.
- Transparency with care. We measure and report progress honestly, while protecting the privacy of a small team.
- Responsible technology. What we build can widen access or reproduce exclusion, so we design with attention to bias, accessibility and power.
- Place-based social justice. We build meaningful work and innovation capacity from Sardinia and Sulcis-Iglesiente, places too often treated as marginal.
What we commit to
- A DEI and Social Justice Lead with recognised time and authority, and inclusion treated as a leadership responsibility;
- Written pay criteria and recurrent pay-equity review, covering not only base pay but raises, variable pay and access to company ownership;
- Inclusive, accessible recruitment, and sourcing that reaches beyond our existing networks for technical roles;
- A parental and family-care policy, and protection from career penalties linked to caregiving or flexible work;
- Gender balance in who decides, represents and is made visible, not only in formal titles;
- Attention to bias, accessibility and responsible AI in the products, services and learning we deliver;
- Annual training, monitoring and a public review of our progress.
The full plan
This page is a summary. Our complete Gender Equality, Inclusion and Social Justice Plan is available as a downloadable document, and is reviewed every year.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19M93Ec_0-q1NaT0SAQKlGQMlW-SR84Rz/view?usp=sharing