Deloitte, Herbert Smith Freehills, Royal Mail, Southbank Centre and Unilever are among the winners at the 2016 Business in the Community (BITC) Workplace Gender Equality Awards.
The awards recognise organisations that have demonstrated leadership in creating equal and inclusive workplaces for women.
The awards ceremony (20 April 2016) coincided with the release of the The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2016 list, published in partnership with BITC as part of its Responsible Business Week. Arup, EDF Energy, Linklaters, MI5, Microsoft UK, PepsiCo, the Royal Navy, Sky and Tata Consultancy Services are among the employers included on this year’s list.
The full list of winners at the 2016 Business in the Community Workplace Gender Equality Awards is as follows:
- Engaging women award – Southbank Centre.
- Female FTSE 100 award – Unilever UK.
- Female FTSE executive women award – Kingfisher.
- Game changer award – Southbank Centre.
- Inclusive leader award: gender champion – Geraldine Huse at Procter and Gamble.
- Inclusive leader award: people manager – Philip Goodstone at EY.
- Progression award – Goldman Sachs International.
- Talent pipeline award – Royal Mail Group.
- Transforming cultures award – Herbert Smith Freehills.
- Transparency award – Deloitte.
Kathryn Nawrockyi, gender equality director at Business in the Community, said: “Congratulations to all our 2016 award winners and finalists. They have demonstrated that working to achieve equality is about more than just creating ‘opportunities for women’; it’s about creating workplaces and ways of working that work for both women and men. We are challenging employers to rethink traditional approaches to creating an equal division of work and power between women and men, and I hope that tonight’s winners and finalists will inspire other employers to be bold and innovative.”
Fiona Jackson, head of strategic resourcing at EDF Energy, which is listed on The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2016 list, added: “To recruit and retain the best and most diverse talent, we know that creating a culture of inclusion is fundamental. Our employees and networking groups have been at the forefront of driving change and we’re delighted that their efforts have been formally recognised by Business in the Community.”
Nupur Singh Mallick, HR director at Tata Consultancy Services UK and Ireland, which is also listed, said: “At Tata Consultancy Services, we work hard to provide a supportive environment for all our associates and to help them to achieve their full potential at work. Given the need for more women to pursue careers in the IT industry, both in the UK and globally, we want to show that working in tech can be hugely fulfilling and rewarding. Our goal is to create an environment where women are encouraged to be ambitious and confident, and to be role models within our business.”
Miriam Ort, head of HR at PepsiCo, which was recognised in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2016, said: “Creating a diverse and inclusive workforce is essential for our business to work at its best. Our commitment to attracting and retaining high-calibre employees means we must be equally compelling to talent across genders. We’re delighted to win this award for the ninth year in a row, it reflects the results we have achieved with our ongoing work to make PepsiCo a top [organisation] for talent in the UK.”