Gender Equality Plan

1. Introduction and Commitment

SyncX SRL is a Romanian software company developing an all-in-one distribution management platform for the European food logistics sector. As a newly founded micro-enterprise (January 2026), SyncX is committed to embedding gender equality principles from its inception, ensuring that equality, diversity and inclusion are integral to its organisational culture, recruitment practices, research activities, and product development.

This Gender Equality Plan (GEP) has been developed in accordance with the requirements of Horizon Europe and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) framework. It sets out SyncX's commitments, objectives, and concrete actions to promote gender equality across all areas of its operations.

2. Work-Life Balance and Organisational Culture

SyncX operates as a remote-first company, providing maximum flexibility for all team members regardless of gender. The company is committed to the following measures:

• Flexible working hours and remote work options for all employees and contractors, enabling individuals with caregiving responsibilities to fully participate in professional activities.
• Equal access to parental leave for all employees, in compliance with Romanian labour law and EU Directive 2019/1158 on work-life balance.
• No meetings scheduled outside core hours (10:00–16:00 CET) to accommodate diverse personal schedules.
• Annual review of work-life balance satisfaction through anonymous employee surveys (to be implemented when the team exceeds 3 members).

3. Gender Balance in Leadership and Decision-Making

As a single-founder micro-enterprise, SyncX currently has limited scope for gender-balanced leadership. However, the company commits to:

• Actively seeking gender balance when expanding the management team, advisory board, or hiring key positions.
• Ensuring that all recruitment panels include at least one member of each gender when hiring for senior roles (applicable when the team exceeds 5 members).
• Monitoring and reporting the gender composition of the team annually, with a target of at least 40% representation of any gender in the overall workforce by 2028.
• Engaging female mentors and advisors in the company's strategic development and R&D activities.

4. Gender Equality in Recruitment and Career Progression

SyncX is committed to bias-free recruitment and equal career development opportunities:

• All job advertisements use gender-neutral language and explicitly welcome applicants of all genders.
• Selection criteria are based exclusively on competence, experience, and potential, with no discrimination based on gender, age, ethnicity, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
• Equal pay for equal work is guaranteed, with transparent salary structures.
• Professional development and training opportunities are equally accessible to all team members.

5. Integration of the Gender Dimension in Research and Innovation

SyncX develops technology for the distribution and logistics sector, which has traditionally been male-dominated. The company commits to:

• Analysing the gender dimension in all R&D projects: considering how the platform's design, user interface, and functionality can be equally accessible and beneficial to users of all genders.
• Designing the DriverX and AgentX mobile applications with inclusive UX principles, ensuring usability for diverse user groups including women drivers and sales agents.
• Collecting and analysing gender-disaggregated data in pilot projects to identify any gender-specific barriers to technology adoption in food distribution.
• Including sex/gender analysis as a standard component of all EU-funded project proposals and deliverables.

6. Measures Against Gender-Based Violence and Harassment

SyncX maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of gender-based violence, harassment, and discrimination:

• A clear anti-harassment policy is communicated to all employees, contractors, and partners.
• Confidential reporting mechanisms will be established for any incidents of harassment or discrimination (to be formalised when the team exceeds 3 members).
• All team members will receive awareness training on unconscious bias and respectful workplace conduct.
• Any reported incidents will be investigated promptly and appropriate action taken.

7. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Resources

The implementation of this GEP is the responsibility of the CEO, Cosmin Cepes, who will:

• Review the GEP annually and update it based on company growth and evolving best practices.
• Collect and publish gender-disaggregated data on team composition, recruitment outcomes, and project participation in the company's annual report.
• Allocate dedicated time and, as the company grows, financial resources for GEP implementation.
• Seek external expertise and training on gender equality from relevant EU networks and EIT programmes (such as EIT Food's Empowering Women in Agrifood initiative).

8. Publication and Accessibility

This Gender Equality Plan is publicly available on the SyncX website at https://syncx.ro/gep. It will be shared with all current and future employees, partners, and stakeholders. Any updates to this plan will be published on the website and communicated to all relevant parties.