Luminaries from the world of equality and diversity in business were honoured at the 5th Annual Global Equality & Diversity (GED) Awards which took place yesterday at the Crowne Plaza hotel in London’s Docklands.
The big winners on the day included Diversity and Ability Ltd, Open for Business, Bristol Manifesto for Race Equality – Strategic Leaders Group, the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and the Home Office.
The awards were presented by conference chair the writer, broadcaster and barrister, Afua Hirsch and Dr Jana Javornik, Associate Professor in Work and Employment Relations, Leeds University Business School who has played a key role in the development of GED over the years.
We’d like to thank Holman Fenwick Willan LLP for their support of GED and, in particular, their kind sponsorship of the Noon Award, which this year was once again presented by David Robinson, Partner at HFW.
Discussing the awards Dr Javornik said:
“This year saw significant policy change and shifts in the area of equality and diversity. The new Gender pay gap reporting shows that we are on a journey but progress is slow. This year’s GED Award entries demonstrate that many organisations are alert, trailblazing and thinking more boldly about equality, diversity, and inclusion. They tackle pressing issues in their workforce and communities head on and set important benchmarks. Theirs are vital contributions to creating sustainable workplaces and societal change and as exemplar organisations, they have an important role in leading the way. Congratulations to all winners and those commended – they provide a valuable lesson: to make a sustainable impact, one cannot be too far ahead of the society but has to be slightly ahead.”
Neil Stewart, Editorial Director of the Equality & Diversity Hub said: “Our 2018 award winners demonstrate that fantastic equalities and diversity work is being done. We see the increasing use of data analysis to highlight and remove obstacles. There is still much to be done on disability faith and age discrimination. Smart solutions like those being created by today’s winners carry all staff and users along with them for a fairer future. They provide hope as well as redress from past discrimination.”
Watch the Global Equality & Diversity Awards 2018:
Winners & Highly Commended Nominees
THE NOON AWARD
WINNER: Diversity and Ability Ltd
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Green Park
Diversity and Ability Ltd won this year’s Noon Award for their work on Digital Inclusion & Tailored Support for Homeless Individuals.
Green Park were Highly Commended for their outstanding contribution to increasing Boardroom Diversity.
CHANCELLOR’S AWARD
WINNER: Open for Business
COMMENDED: Health Education England – North East
Open For Business is a coalition of global companies taking action to promote equality for LGBT+ people, they won this year’s Chancellor’s Award for their project Business action for LGBT + inclusive societies.
Health Education England – North East meanwhile were Highly Commended for their work on Enhanced Equality and Diversity Training.
TRANSPARENCY AWARD
WINNER: Bristol Manifesto for Race Equality – Strategic Leaders Group, Bristol City Council
COMMENDED: Doncaster Council
Bristol City Council won the Transparency Award for the Bristol Manifesto for Race Equality Strategic Leaders Group’s work introducing an outstanding partnership research and data product to highlight race equality performance of all 12 of the public sector partner agencies in Bristol.
Doncaster Council were Highly Commended for their success in adopting good practice to help their workforce achieve the best for Doncaster.
RESEARCH AWARD
Researcher, National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) collects the Research Award
WINNER: National Centre for Social Research (NatCen)
COMMENDED: Questback & Conflux
The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) received the Research Award for Enhancing Diversity in Policing through their research contributing to the National Policing Vision 2025. The work has recently been adopted by all 43 Police forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is significant in shaping the future of diversity in policing.
Questback and Conflux were highly commended for their groundbreaking research within financial services organisations to identify the underlying cultural factors behind the gender pay gap.
INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE AWARD
WINNER: The Home Office
COMMENDED: South Yorkshire Police Force
The Home Office won the inclusive workplace award
for a joint action between The NETWORK and the Private Offices of both the Home Secretary and Ministers, to increase BAME appointees in Private Offices by almost 50% within 12 months.
South Yorkshire Police Force were Highly Commended for their SYP 4D Campaign supporting officers affected by learning difficulties.
