Published
By Ashley Cox
Crescent Purchasing Consortium is one of UK’s Best Workplaces for Women™!
SALFORD, 22 July 2025 - A Greater Manchester non-profit, renowned for its support of the education sector, has once again been recognised as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Women™.
Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC), whose Head Office is in Leslie Hough Way, Salford, ranked 70th in its category on the 2025 UK’s Best Workplaces for Women™ rundown, as compiled by the workplace culture authority, Great Place To Work® UK.
Employing upwards of 80 staff, CPC’s progressive policies have proven to be a hit with its diverse workforce, whose anonymous survey feedback formed the basis of their UK’s Best Workplaces for Women™ certification.
With a slight majority of female colleagues (52.9%), CPC currently operates with 50% female management representation, plus a 50% female Board of Trustees.
In addition to its commitment to gender balance across the organisation, CPC has introduced a dedicated Women’s Support Network and, in 2024, launched a new, five-year Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) strategy.
As highlighted in its inaugural EDI Annual Report, CPC went into its last assessment period with a gender pay gap of 0.75%, which compares significantly favourably with the UK-wide average of more than 13%.
In July 2025, the gap is now a slender -0.23%, in favour of women (this figure is exclusive of the CPC Managing Director role).
Signers of the Menopause Pledge, CPC has adopted a Family Friendly policy, enabling an improved work-life balance for those with children, while developing a Carers’ Support Network and offering internal platforms for knowledge sharing/awareness.
As one of 350 companies committed to ensuring a reasonable gender parity and eliminating barriers to women’s professional advancement, CPC’s place on the UK’s Best Workplaces for Women™ list acts as true validation of its efforts, as it nurtures an environment for all to flourish.
Established in 1999, CPC provides a host of expert procurement services to the education sector, from purchasing frameworks to consultancy support and learning and development resources.
Helping education establishments the length and breadth of the UK to make better procurements (and unlock useful savings), CPC ensures its work can be doubly beneficial, by way of its flagship Giving Back scheme.
Launched in 2019, Giving Back is a charity programme that invites funding applications from eligible institutions, reinvesting in them by way of special purchases and projects, as evaluated by a broad, in-house panel.
Circulating surplus funds for the benefit of young learners, £2m has been used for Giving Back work since its inception, with its latest funding round focused on SEND support, wellbeing provisions and anti-absenteeism.
As a registered charity, CPC’s altruistic ethos is duly embedded across its workforce and, as its ‘grow your own’ recruitment policy continues as a gateway to developing emerging female colleagues, the organisation remains proactive in promotion of external training routes.
Darren Lowe, Managing Director of Crescent Purchasing Consortium, said: "I’m thrilled that CPC has made the cut for the UK’s Best Workplaces for Women™ 2025. We’ve already had a brilliant year, being named one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Development™ and Wellbeing™, as well as retaining our Great Place To Work® status.
To be told CPC is one of the UK’s Best Workplaces™… I believe it, I see it every day!
"All of these accreditations are testament to our staff, and their feedback, recorded anonymously, represents a huge thumbs-up for the kind of things we’re doing to make CPC an encouraging and inclusive place to work".
Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director of Great Place To Work® UK, said: "This year’s UK’s Best Workplaces for Women™ list highlights organisations that are moving beyond good intentions and delivering real, measurable progress. These companies are dismantling outdated norms, prioritising women’s health and building clear, supported pathways to leadership.
He added: "This recognition is driven by what matters most: the voices of women who work there. They’ve said, in their own words, their workplace is one where they’re respected, empowered and able to succeed”.
Congratulations to CPC for leading by example, showing what a genuinely inclusive workplace can look like
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For additional details, please contact [email protected]
About Crescent Purchasing Consortium
CPC is a not-for-profit purchasing consortium, run for the benefit of the UK’s education sector. Providing access to 80+ compliant procurement frameworks, with a number of these recommended by the Department for Education (DfE), CPC has more than 10,000 registered members, with the majority of these being schools, academies, colleges, trusts and universities.
Equipping its members with expert advice and information, CPC facilitates procurement-based learning and development opportunities, while also operating a consultancy division, for those in need of additional support.
The surpluses generated by CPC’s work are reinvested in the education sector through its flagship Giving Back initiative, which has allocated £2m since 2019 to sector-enhancing purchases and projects.
The current focuses of Giving Back are SEND, wellbeing and absenteeism.
For more information, visit www.thecpc.ac.uk
About Great Place To Work®
Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, helping organisations to create exceptional, high-performing workplaces where employees feel trusted and valued.
The UK’s Best Workplaces for Women™ enables outstanding organisations to celebrate their achievements, build their employer brand and inspire others to take action.
For more information, visit www.greatplacetowork.co.uk