Top employers named by Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards

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 for LGBTQ people.

The honours were announced at this year’s Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards, held at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney last week.

Capgemini was named Employer of the Year for the first time, while management consulting company Oliver Wyman took out Small Employer of the Year. 

New South Wales peak organisation the Network of Alcohol and other Drugs Agencies 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.

The ABC was named Most Improved and also took out the External Media Campaign award. 

The awards are Australia’s foremost annual celebration of LGBTQ workplace inclusion, hosted by ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs.

The awards are based on the results of the annual Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) and the Health + Wellbeing Equality Index (HWEI).                                                                                                                                                     

By participating in the AWEI and accompanying employee survey, employers can benchmark their practice against other organisations and obtain data on the impact their initiatives have on 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 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,” said Emsen-Hough.

“It’s incredibly encouraging to see workplaces in Australia continue to remain dedicated and stride towards greater inclusion of our LGBTQ communities.

“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 almost 45,000 responses.

Emsen-Hough congratulated all the award recipients.

“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,” said Emsen-Hough.