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TOP AUSTRALIAN ORGANISATIONS FOR LGBTQ INCLUSION IN 2021 ANNOUNCED

 

The ABC, information technology services and consulting company Capgemini, and community support agency Advance Diversity Services are among this year’s top employers and service providers announced at this year’s Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards held in Sydney.

Capgemini was named ‘Employer of the Year’ for the first time, while management consulting company Oliver Wyman was announced ‘Small Employer of the Year’. Network of Alcohol and other Drugs Agencies (NADA), which is NSW’s peak organisation for non-government alcohol and other drugs services, was named ‘Service Provider of the Year’.

Other top honours went organisations including Dentons, Deutsche Bank, IBM, Woolworths, Coles, the University of NSW and Deloitte, who all received high tiered ranking for LGBTQ inclusion. The ABC was named ‘Most Improved’ and also took out the ‘External Media Campaign’ award. (NB: Full list of award recipients and finalists below.)

Held at the Hyatt Regency, the sold-out event is Australia’s foremost annual celebration of LGBTQ workplace inclusion. It is hosted by ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, the national not-for-profit LGBTQ inclusion support program for employers, sporting organisations and service providers.

The awards are based on the results of the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) – which is now in its eleventh year – and the third Health + Wellbeing Equality Index (HWEI). The AWEI and HWEI are rigorous and evidence-based benchmarking tools that annually assesses workplaces in the progress and impact of LGBTQ inclusion initiatives.

By participating in the AWEI and accompanying employee survey, employers are able to benchmark their practice against other organisations and obtain annual data on the impact initiatives are having on their employees.

Dawn Emsen-Hough, Director of ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, said she was proud to see the indices continue to achieve record growth and participation following a year that saw a lot of difficulty and uncertainty.

“Over the past year, we have seen incredible advancements in workplace diversity and inclusion despite turmoil we all experienced on a global scale. It’s incredibly encouraging to see workplaces in Australia continue to remain dedicated and stride towards greater inclusion of our LGBTQ communities,” Emsen-Hough said.

“As we continue to progress, it’s vital that efforts are acknowledged and celebrated, and that we continue to maintain and build upon our achievements.”

The AWEI saw a record 186 organisations across Australia participate this year, and an employee survey attached to the index received 44,915 responses, the highest it has ever received. In its inaugural survey, the HWEI saw over 700 responses from 24 organisations/service providers.

Emsen-Hough added: “Once again, we have record numbers of employers across all sectors participating in the indices. The employee survey that accompanied the AWEI, and for the first time, the HWEI, provides us with a great insight into workplace attitudes towards diversity and inclusion.

“Congratulations to all the award recipients announced today, including those the receiving Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum Employer status, as well as those that received organisational awards. I commend all of them on their significant achievements and for showing great leadership in LGBTQ inclusion.”

“These awards truly give us an insight into the amazing breadth of work being done by so many in making organisations across Australia more inclusive of LGBTQ people and communities.”

Click here to download a PDF version of this media release.

For more information on ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, go to www.prideinclusionprograms.com.au

Winners from the Australian Workplace Equality Index

Winners from the Health + Wellbeing Equality Index

Individual Awards Categories – Finalists and Winners

RMIT UNIVERSITY NAMED TOP EMPLOYER FOR LGBTQ INCLUSION

Technology and design tertiary institution RMIT University, law firm Dentons and community support agency Advance Diversity Services are among this year’s top employers and service providers for LGBTQ inclusion in Australia.

At a preliminary awards announcement for the 2020 Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards held online earlier today, RMIT was named ‘Employer of the Year’ – for the second year in a row – while Dentons was announced ‘Small Employer of the Year’. Advance Diversity Services, which provide support services to culturally and linguistically diverse communities, wasnamed ‘Service Provider of the Year’.

Other top honours went to Commonwealth Bank, PwC Australia and University of Western Australia, which all received the highest tiered ranking for LGBTQ inclusion. Engineering group John Holland named ‘Most Improved’.

The 2020 Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards is Australia’s leading annual celebration of LGBTQ workplace inclusion. It is hosted by ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, the national not-for-profit LGBTQ inclusion support program for employers,sporting organisations and service providers. Usually held in May, this year’s event is being held on 19 October 2020 at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney.

The awards are based on the results of the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) – which is now in its tenth year –and the second Health + Wellbeing Equality Index (HWEI). The AWEI and HWEI are rigorous and evidence-based benchmarking tools that annually assesses workplaces in the progress and impact of LGBTQ inclusion initiatives.

Dawn Hough, Director of ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, said she was excited to have been able to share the initial results of the indices and the wonderful achievements of various organisations in LGBTQ inclusion. “This year marks an important milestone for the AWEI, as it celebrates its tenth anniversary. Over the past decade, we have seen incredible advancements in workplace diversity and inclusion. As we progress further, it remains critical that not only efforts are acknowledged and congratulated, but pressure continues to be applied to maintain and build upon what has been achieved,” Hough said.

“Once again, we have record numbers of employers across all sectors and states participating in the indices. The employee survey that accompanied the AWEI elicited an incredible response, which underscores the importance of LGBTQ inclusion in the workplace.

“Congratulations to all the recipients of the tiered awards announced today, including those the received Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum status, as well as those that received organisational awards. I commend all of them on their significant achievements and for showing great leadership in LGBTQ inclusion.”

Hough said she looked forward to unveiling the recipients of the individual awards at the luncheon in October, which will hosted by SBS World News presenter Ricardo Gonçalves, feature The Voice 2016 winner Alfie Arcuri and be attended by business leaders, diversity advocates and HR professionals representing a wide variety of industries, sectors and employer sizes.

“Today’s announcement of the finalists of the individual awards gives us an insight into the amazing breadth of work being done by so many in making organisations across Australia more inclusive of LGBTQ people and communities. I look forward to celebrating their achievements at the 2020 Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards,” Hough said.

Click here to view the full list of results, winners and finalists.

Are Australian employees going back into the closet?

This year, 33,572 employees from 170 organisations responded to the AWEI (Australian Workplace Equality Index) employee survey on LGBTQ workplace inclusion. Of those respondents, 5,413 identified as either being of diverse sexuality and/or gender. 5,276 of those respondents identified with a sexual orientation other than heterosexual.  This article discusses the extraordinary finding that suggests Australian employees are more likely to be in the closet and less likely to be completely out at work in 2020 than they were the year prior.

Respondents: Diverse Sexual Orientation

15.72% of these year’s 33,572 people responding to the AWEI survey identified as someone of diverse sexuality (n5,276).  Every year we analyse this data to look for trends in terms of experiences of workplace culture, productivity, inclusion and the freedom to be out at work.

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For the last nine years, we have found some consistent trends in regard to LGBQ employees. Firstly, the data has consistently shown that those who are younger are least likely to be out at work and more likely to be out to none. The second piece of consistent data is that the higher the organisation’s score on the AWEI (national benchmarking instrument for LGBTQ workplace inclusion), the more likely their employees are to be out when compared to employees within organisations who are just starting LGBTQ initiatives or do not have high visibility of inclusion for people of diverse sexuality and/or gender.

As LGBTQ inclusion initiatives become more prominent in Australian workplaces, a greater number of employees have, year on year, felt more comfortable to be out at work; however this year our data shows a slightly different trend.

Are people really less likely to be out and more likely to be closeted than last year?

The first cut of the data this year shows that there is a 2% increase in the number of people who are more likely to be completely closeted at work and a 17.65% drop in those who are out to everyone at work. In contrast to previous years, these findings were out of sync in terms of projected impacts of inclusion; and were alarming to say the least.

To investigate further, we looked into the differences in language used between this years survey and last, isolated data where language did not differ between the years and further analysed particular demographic data such as age and gender in order to compare those figures to last year’s figures.

Focusing on those who were completely out at work in terms of age, the numbers were down across the board but continued the pattern of our younger employees least likely to be out. In terms of gender, with the exception of those who are gender diverse, both men and women were less likely to be completely out at work when compared to last year.

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Our next investigation was to determine whether there were more employees from “gold” (higher scoring) organisations participating in the survey last year. Our data clearly shows that the higher the score on the AWEI, the more likely their employees are to be out at work, speaking to the visibility of LGBTQ inclusion and the support felt by the employees. As we did find more “gold” employees participating last year, we further extracted the percentage of completely out employees working for gold employers and compared these numbers across both years.

Once again, the data supports the finding that even within gold employers, people are less likely to be “out to all” and more likely to be completely closeted at work. In 2019 63.74% of gold respondents were completely out; this year only 43.91%. Last year 9.27% of gold employees were not at all all compared to 14.18% this year. For those organisations participating in the employee survey, it would be interesting to see if your own organisational data reflects this trend.

Another finding that could possibly impact the numbers of those who chose not to be out at work is an increase in the visibility of unwelcome jokes/innuendo and mild harassment targeted people of diverse sexual orientation (2.22% increase overall) and an increase in the visibility of targeted serious bullying/harassment (3.11% increase overall). The number of people who were themselves the target of more serious bullying/harassment as a direct result of their sexual orientation also increased by 3.02%.

On the positive side, those who are out to everyone at work enjoyed higher levels of productivity, engagement and greater positive mental health and wellbeing at work.

To read more about these finding and other topics of AWEI analysis, please visit: http://www.pid-awei.com.au/2020practicepoints/

This paper was compiled by Dawn Hough, Director, ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs.

Pride in Diversity annually publishes the key findings of the Australian Workplace Equality Index as part of the national benchmarking process for LGBTQ inclusion within Australian workplaces. This year 170 organisations participated in the survey with 33,572 employees responding. These reports focus on key findings within that survey. The benchmarking instrument and employee survey are published by the Pride in Diversity Program, ACON. 

Data may be used with the reference AWEI(2020), Pride in Diversity, ACON, www.pid-awei.com.au

Gold employers: PM&C and ATO recognised at LGBTI inclusion awards

by David Donaldson, The Mandarin, 28 May 2019

 

The Australian Tax Office and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet have been named among Australia’s best employers for LGBTI inclusion.

Both were included on the list of 14 gold employers at last week’s Australian LGBTI Inclusion Awards, hosted by ACON’s Pride in Diversity — the national not-for-profit employer support program for LGBTI workplace inclusion.

The awards are based on the results of the Australian Workplace Equality Index — an evidence-based benchmarking tool that annually assesses workplaces in their progress and impact on LGBTI inclusion initiatives.

PM&C was also named most improved.

RMIT University took out the top spot as employer of the year — the first time the award has not gone to a private sector business. RMIT also won best on trans and gender diverse inclusion, acknowledging the support offered via the gender transition guide, including special leave for staff transitioning genders.

Andrea Kenafake, divisional manager city planning and sustainability at Brisbane City Council, took the executive leadership award, while her employer was included on the gold list. Nicholas Steepe from Charles Sturt University won the out role model award.

The inclusive service provider of the year is Uniting, which is also a gold employer. The full list of gold employers includes:

  • Australian Taxation Office
  • Brisbane City Council
  • Clayton Utz
  • Deakin University
  • Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet
  • EY
  • Macquarie Bank Limited
  • MinterEllison
  • NAB
  • PwC
  • QBE Insurance Australia
  • RMIT University
  • Uniting
  • Woolworths Group

Four employers were awarded platinum status for longevity in high performance — Accenture, LendLease, ANZ and the University of Western Australia. Two employers have qualified for platinum status next year — EY and the Macquarie Group.

There has been continued growth in participation in the index since its launch in 2010, said Dawn Hough, director of ACON’s pride inclusion programs.

“This is the ninth year of the AWEI and, once again, we have record numbers of employers across all sectors and states participating in the index. The accompanying employee survey elicited a staggering 27,349 responses, which underscores the importance of LGBTI inclusion in the workplace,” Hough said.

“Practice is continuing to shift significantly in this space with employers across Australia not only maintaining their commitment to LGBTI inclusion but in fact strengthening their inclusion initiatives and activities. Scores required to obtain the various tiers of recognition have continued to increase.”

Pride in Diversity is part of Pride Inclusion Programs, a suite of social inclusion programs delivered by ACON, Australia’s largest LGBTQ health organisation.

Uniting is the highest ranking LGBTI service provider

Originally published by Uniting, 27 May 2019

 

Uniting continues to build on its recognition of commitment to inclusivity and celebration of the LGBTI community. Uniting won the inaugural service provider of the year in the Health and Wellbeing Equity Index (HWEI) and retained gold employer status at the 2019 Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) awards.

The annual Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) awards are a rigorous, evidence-based benchmarking tool that assesses workplaces in the progress and impact of their LGBTI inclusion initiatives.

The HWEI award which featured for the first time this year, recognises organisations for their LGBTI inclusive service delivery in the Health and Wellbeing industry while the gold employer award is an acknowledgement of exemplary achievement in workplace LGBTI inclusion. Uniting was recognised for its effort in these spaces across the ageing, disability, homelessness, early learning and family services sectors.

“Both these awards are an acknowledgment once again for our work in maintaining and strengthening our commitment to LGBTI advocacy and inclusion for our staff and our service users,” said Uniting Director Customer, People and Systems, Jill Reich.

“Being an inclusive workplace and service provider is beneficial for everybody; it enriches and energises our community and is reflective of the wider society we live in. We are extremely proud to be at the forefront of LGBTI inclusion for not only our staff but also for those people that we serve,” said Jill Reich.

Participation in the AWEI index has seen continued growth for the 8th year in a row, since its launch in 2010 with a 14.7 percent increase by organisations in 2019.

“The nature and focus of LGBTI inclusion is constantly evolving and Uniting strives to expand the scope of our ongoing efforts in creating a more diverse and productive workplace so that all our staff, volunteers and clients in our services feel included and supported,” said Jill Reich.

In addition to being the only faith based organisation to win the AWEI and HWEI awards, Uniting was also the first faith-based organisation in Australia to be recognised as LGBTI friendly and received the Rainbow Tick accreditation in 2015 for aged care and corporate services. In 2018 Uniting was also re-accredited for ageing corporate War Memorial and Local Area Coordination services.

BHP employee wins Network Leader of the Year at the 2019 Australian LGBTI Inclusion Awards

Originally published by BHP on 4 June 2019, 10:30 AM

 

BHP Principal Program Delivery and Jasper Global Co-Lead, Cameron Tirendi, has won the Network Leader of the Year at the 2019 Australian LGBTI Inclusion Awards.

Jasper, our LGBT+ network, makes BHP a better place to work for all. It makes our sites and offices more inclusive workplaces by treating everyone with respect that translates into long-term improvements in both safety and productivity.

Cameron, who was one of the founding members of the Jasper network in 2017, said he was inspired to create a LGBT+ group at BHP to provide a place for people to speak up and bring their whole selves to work.

“It touches me that we are making such a real difference to people’s lives at BHP,” said Cameron.

“It provides me with a sense of purpose and will continue to work with our employees and leaders to make BHP an even more inclusive workplace.”

The Award recognises the impact of individuals within network leadership groups that perform above and beyond the expectations of the role and significantly impact LGBTI workplace inclusion as a result.

Learn more about Jasper and inclusion and diversity at BHP via bhp.com.

BHP is a Pride in Diversity member.

Media Release: CU scores LGBTI inclusion trifecta

Originally published by Clayton Utz, 28 May 2019

 

Clayton Utz has been recognised as a Gold Employer for its efforts around LGBTI inclusion for the third consecutive year, at the 2019 LGBTI Inclusion Awards.

14 Australian organisations were awarded gold tier status including Clayton Utz at the award ceremony hosted at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney on Friday 24 May. The LGBTI Inclusion Awards draw upon robust data and metrics from the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) and are managed by Pride in Diversity.

At the awards Clayton Utz was recognised as a true leader in LGBTI inclusion, having placed in the top three of 156 organisations who participated overall.

Gold employer recognition is the highest status obtainable for the current year, outside Platinum employer recognition, the highest accolade. Gold tier status is indicative of a substantial amount of meaningful activity in the area of LGBTI inclusion.

Clayton Utz Chief Executive Partner (CEP) Rob Cutler said he was incredibly proud of the firm’s progress around LGBTI inclusion.

Mr. Cutler said, “This reflects the sustained effort to create a truly inclusive culture for our people.  This recent accolade shows our commitment to entrench policies and practices that ensure we are properly set up to continue to remain inclusive for future employees.   We know it’s a long journey and are committed to driving change whether it’s engaging with our clients or industry and external stakeholders to advance LGBTI inclusion within Australian workplaces.”

More than 700 business leaders, diversity champions and HR professionals representing all sectors and employer sizes came together to celebrate the results of the AWEI.

Media agency Initiative scores two national awards for LGBTI inclusion at AWEI Awards

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Media communications agency Initiative has been awarded two of the top honours at the 2019 Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) Awards, celebrating LGBTI Inclusion. AWEI is a rigorous, evidence-based benchmarking program that annually assesses workplaces on the progress and impact of their LGBTI inclusion initiatives.

The awards are hosted by ACON’s Pride in Diversity, the national not-for-profit employer support program for LGBTI workplace inclusion.

Initiative was awarded Gold in the Small Employer (less than 200 people) category and was also named Small Employer of the Year. The agency was among many of Australia’s largest and high-profile corporate entities recognised for their LGBTI inclusion programs, such as Macquarie Bank, Australian Taxation Office, ANZ, LendLease, Woolworths, PwC, Brisbane City Council and RMIT University.

Initiative Australia has focused its LGBTI inclusion through the agency’s bespoke Rainbow Elephant program that includes developing HR policy and diversity practice, strategy and accountability, LGBTI training, network and champion initiatives, visibility and inclusion, community engagement and advocacy. The program is led by the agency’s head of studio Olivia Warren and national director of people and culture, Scott Laird.

Says Warren: “This award fills me with a lot of pride. I feel very fortunate to work in an environment that not only accepts me for who I am but fosters an environment that is supportive and inclusive for all.”

Initiative’s national CEO Melissa Fein said the LGBTI inclusion awards were a massive highlight for the business: “The whole agency has supported our progress in being a more inclusive and welcoming workplace, especially for the LGBTI community. Olivia and Scott have also been inspirational leaders for a group of agency volunteers and these awards prove how popular and effective our Rainbow Elephant program has been.”

There were just 17 employers, Australia wide, who received Gold standard in LGBTI inclusion, three of which were in the small-employer category (less than 200 employees) where Initiative was recognised. The agency’s Rainbow Elephant program continues to be an important internal program.

View the winners here.

Sapphire Inspire Award Winner 2019

12 June 2016

The Sapphire inspire Award celebrates the achievements of an LGBTIQ+ Woman, from their impact on workplace inclusion and support of other out women, to contributions they’ve made to promote and encourage such visibility. It is an individual award nomination that is part of the annual Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) and announced at The Australian LGBTI Inclusion Awards.

With some outstanding achievements from several women nominated for this year’s award, the 2019 winner is Caitlin Monnery–Korving from ANZ. The award was announced by Pride in Diversity Relationship Managers Sarah Cox and Nicki Elkin, who govern the Sapphire Initiative.

Caitlin impressed the judges with the inspiring number of activities she delivered throughout 2018. In particular, she was instrumental in the development and creation of Women in Pride, a network for LGBTIQ+ women and allies within ANZ, and co-creator of Rainbow Women, an external network in Melbourne. Caitlin also drove ANZ’s early endorsement of the Darlington Statement for Intersex People.

The name of the award stems from Pride in Diversity’s Sapphire Initiative, developed to generate greater awareness of the unique challenges faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTIQ+) women in the workplace. The Sapphire initiative seeks to provide women with an opportunity to openly express and discuss some of these challenges in a safe, non-confrontational professional environment.

The initiative seeks to engage LGBTIQ+ women (regardless of whether or not they are out at work) who feel passionate about wanting to see a more inclusive workplace, one in which LGBTIQ+ women can freely be themselves at work and one in which there is a greater visibility of  ‘out’ female role models.

The dual impacts of being an out LGBTIQ+ female role model in the workplace is often referred to as the double-glass ceiling. Caitlin’s work in this area has certainly had a major impact, progressing towards equality, inclusion and visibility of LGBTIQ+ women in the workplace.

Click here to learn more about the Sapphire Inititative or become a member.

This year, ANZ was also recognised as a Platinum Employer of the AWEI, having achieved Gold Employer Status for the past four years. In recent years, ANZ has previously been recipients of:

  • Employer of the Year (2017)
  • The Sally Webster Ally Award (Melissa Tandy, 2016 & 2018)
  • External Media Campaign (2018)
  • Trans and Gender Diverse Inclusion (2017)
  • Out Role Model Award (Dave Beks, 2017)

ANZ is a Pride in Diversity member.

Woolworths awarded Gold for second year running in LGBTI Awards

Mirage News, 30 May 2019 3:07 PM AEST

 

Woolworths Group is proud to again be recognised with gold tier status at the 2019 Australian LGBTI Inclusion Awards for the second year running.

The Australian LGBTI Inclusion Awards is based on the results of the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI), the national benchmark on LGBTI inclusion.

The event recognises Australia’s top organisations for LGBTI inclusion and celebrates leaders, individuals and networks that have made a significant impact within their workplaces.

Woolworths remains the only retailer in Australia to be awarded Gold Tier status.

Woolworths Group Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Rachel Mead said: “At Woolworths, creating an inclusive culture is a huge priority for us. We want all our team members to feel free to bring their whole selves to work.

“We are delighted to be recognised as a gold tier workplace by AWEI for a second year in a row and extremely proud of the work we have undertaken to progress LGBTI inclusion in the workplace and the efforts of our teams across the Group.”

In the past twelve months, Woolworths Group has undertaken the following initiatives to progress LGBTI inclusion in the workplace:

  • Continuing educational LGBTI events and training sessions for team members and leaders;
  • Hosting a diversity roundtable and networking event;
  • Growing the Proud at Woolworths Group to 2000+ members;
  • Celebrating Wear it Purple Day across the Group, nationwide;
  • Partnering with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 2019 with teams participating in their first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade this year;
  • Launching LGBTI inclusion training online to improve access for all team members;
  • Hosting a guest panel event to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance to drive transgender awareness and inclusion across the Group; and
  • Inclusion of a double page spread on LGBTI inclusion in Woolworths Group Sustainability Report.

Rachel concluded: “While we know we still have more work to do, we are fully committed to continuing to create better experiences for our LGBTI team members.

“It is a very exciting time to be at Woolworths. As a diverse team, we know we can create better experiences together, each and every day.”