SMALL BUSINESSES SHINE IN DIVERSITY AWARDS

IN ANNOUNCING the finalists in the 2019 Diversity Awards NZ recently, the judges recognised five small to medium-sized organisations that are embedding workplace diversity and inclusion into the way they operate.

Judging convenor Neil Porteous says it was gratifying to have so many smaller organisations enter the awards. “It’s fantastic to see such a breadth of organisations focusing in this space and understanding the benefits of an inclusive workplace culture.”

The awards, run by Diversity Works New Zealand, are in their 22nd year and celebrate best practice in workplace diversity and inclusion.

SMES named as finalists are Recreation Aotearoa and Sharesies in the Work Life Balance category, She Sharp in the Empowerment category and The Cookie Project in the Diversability category. The founder of boutique law firm Prestige Law, Royal Reed, is a finalist in the Walk the Talk category.

This year, for the first time, the judges will have the discretion to confer a Small Organisation Excellence Award in any of the categories. These new awards are available to organisations with fewer than 50 employees.

Porteous says the judges chose finalists with initiatives that were sustainable and offered long-term benefits, rather than entries based on one-off events. They also favoured initiatives impacting a significant proportion of an organisation’s workforce.

The entries highlighted the importance of leadership in the diversity and inclusion space, Porteous says. “The panel found the Walk the

Talk category difficult to judge as there are so many people standing up and influencing the workplace over and above their job descriptions.”

Winners will be announced at a gala dinner at the Cordis in Auckland on Wednesday, 28 August.

Visit https://diversityworksnz.org.nz