Entries open for LBGTI+ Workplace Awards

Entries are open for the inaugural Westpac New Zealand Rainbow Tick Excellence Awards, which will mark five years of the Rainbow Tick and recognise organisations making a difference every day for members of the LBGTI+ community.
 
The Awards, which will be held on May 17, 2019, at SKYCITY Auckland Convention Centre, will celebrate workplace leadership, innovation, best practice and collaboration.
 
“We want to recognise organisations who understand, value and welcome sexual and gender diversity and inclusion, and to acknowledge community leadership” says Awards Manager, Martin King (pictured).
 
“The Rainbow Tick has been around for five years now and we need to keep the conversation alive, and keep raising the bar,” he says. 
 
The Rainbow Tick is a certification mark awarded to organisations that complete a Diversity & Inclusion certification process. The process tests whether a workplace understands, values and welcomes sexual and gender diversity.

The awards are open to all organisations and companies in New Zealand, not only those who have achieved a Rainbow Tick.

The awards will also incorporate the Development Forum co-sponsored by Z Energy and Fletcher Building, and will be highlighted by the announcement of new research that has not been shared before. 

The data will illustrate progress made for the LGTBTI+ community in the workplace, but also highlight how far there is still to go. Many members of the LBGTI+ community still do not feel safe to come out in their workplace, or even leave because they are not comfortable.

An expert panel of judges from across New Zealand organisations has been formed including: Koro Dickinson, Executive Officer to the Chief of Operations Officer at Auckland Council; Kirsten Te Wao, Diversity & Inclusion Lead, Vodafone New Zealand; Rachel Hopkins, Chief Executive, Diversity Works New Zealand; Michael Bennetts, Chief Executive, Z Energy Ltd; Michael Stevens, Programme Director, Rainbow Tick and Martin King, Director, South Pacific Pride Limited.

To enter, go to www.nzrainbowawards.co.nz. Application forms are open until 31 March. Each entry costs $140 plus GST and is FREE for charities.