Opportunity Now awards recognise equality initiatives
PwC, BT and Diageo were among the winners at the Opportunity Now awards last night, which rewards employers who have made progress in improving gender diversity at work.
More than 500 business leaders gathered for the event, now in its 17th year, to celebrate organisations that put gender issues at the heart of their business.
The Champion Award was picked by Helena Morrissey CBE, chief executive at Newton Investment Management, a BNY Mellon company, for championing the leadership of women in financial services over the past decade.
PwC won the Inclusive Culture Award for its Open Mind programme, which trains people to understand unconscious bias and its impact. So far 15,872 people in the organisation have received this training in an effort to embed diversity at a cultural level.
Gaenor Bagley, PwC’s head of people, said: “Diversity is one of our top priorities. What’s most important is whether our people believe we are doing the right thing for them and of course it’s always encouraging to be recognised by external bodies.
"We are delighted to receive this accolade as we continue our efforts to improve gender equality through, for example, our people networks, mentoring and recruitment programmes and newly formed diversity council.”
Diageo received the Female FTSE 100 Award for having the most women on its board (44 per cent). This is well above the most recent average figures for FTSE 100 firms of 15.6 per cent. The award was presented in partnership with Cranfield School of Management.
The Directing Diverse Talent Award, presented in association with the CIPD, went to GE Capital’s senior HR manager Roshni Haywood, for her strategy to deliver a fast-track talent pipeline for senior female leaders.
Computer manufacturer Dell took home the Agile Organisation Award for its Connected Workplace programme that promotes flexible job design and work environments, which has enabled 65 per cent of its UK employees to work remotely.
This year Opportunity Now partnered with the Home Office to create a new Transparency Award to recognise an organisation that has taken significant first steps to voluntarily publish its gender metrics in the public domain. The prize was won by telecoms giant BT.
Three banks also scooped top awards: Credit Suisse took home the Advancing Women in the Workplace Award for its mentoring scheme, Deutsche Bank collected the Global Award for its ATLAS programme to boost the number of senior women internationally, and Goldman Sachs won the Santander Award ‘Inspiring the Workforce of the Future’, for broadening the diversity of its undergraduate candidates.
Alison Platt, chair of Opportunity Now and CMG divisional managing director, Europe and North America for Bupa, said: “This agenda is about utilising the best talent to gain competitive advantage, it is not about tokenism. For more than two decades Opportunity Now has been working with leading businesses that recognise the tangible benefits of a diverse and fully engaged workforce. These employers understand that creating workplaces that work for women is a commercial imperative, not a women’s issue.”
More than 500 business leaders gathered for the event, now in its 17th year, to celebrate organisations that put gender issues at the heart of their business.
The Champion Award was picked by Helena Morrissey CBE, chief executive at Newton Investment Management, a BNY Mellon company, for championing the leadership of women in financial services over the past decade.
PwC won the Inclusive Culture Award for its Open Mind programme, which trains people to understand unconscious bias and its impact. So far 15,872 people in the organisation have received this training in an effort to embed diversity at a cultural level.
Gaenor Bagley, PwC’s head of people, said: “Diversity is one of our top priorities. What’s most important is whether our people believe we are doing the right thing for them and of course it’s always encouraging to be recognised by external bodies.
"We are delighted to receive this accolade as we continue our efforts to improve gender equality through, for example, our people networks, mentoring and recruitment programmes and newly formed diversity council.”
Diageo received the Female FTSE 100 Award for having the most women on its board (44 per cent). This is well above the most recent average figures for FTSE 100 firms of 15.6 per cent. The award was presented in partnership with Cranfield School of Management.
The Directing Diverse Talent Award, presented in association with the CIPD, went to GE Capital’s senior HR manager Roshni Haywood, for her strategy to deliver a fast-track talent pipeline for senior female leaders.
Computer manufacturer Dell took home the Agile Organisation Award for its Connected Workplace programme that promotes flexible job design and work environments, which has enabled 65 per cent of its UK employees to work remotely.
This year Opportunity Now partnered with the Home Office to create a new Transparency Award to recognise an organisation that has taken significant first steps to voluntarily publish its gender metrics in the public domain. The prize was won by telecoms giant BT.
Three banks also scooped top awards: Credit Suisse took home the Advancing Women in the Workplace Award for its mentoring scheme, Deutsche Bank collected the Global Award for its ATLAS programme to boost the number of senior women internationally, and Goldman Sachs won the Santander Award ‘Inspiring the Workforce of the Future’, for broadening the diversity of its undergraduate candidates.
Alison Platt, chair of Opportunity Now and CMG divisional managing director, Europe and North America for Bupa, said: “This agenda is about utilising the best talent to gain competitive advantage, it is not about tokenism. For more than two decades Opportunity Now has been working with leading businesses that recognise the tangible benefits of a diverse and fully engaged workforce. These employers understand that creating workplaces that work for women is a commercial imperative, not a women’s issue.”
Source: PM
1 comment:
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