Category : Awards

OUT IN PERTH – 28 May, 2018

Professional services firm EY was named Australia’s most inclusive employer at the Pride in Diversity Awards last week.

Lynn Kraus, Managing Partner for Advisory – and the executive sponsor for Unity, the organisation’s LGBTIQ network, chatted to OUTinPerth about what the organisation has done to change their workplaces over the last few years.

“We are super excited and absolutely humbled,” Kraus said of the organisation’s achievement in the awards. “Its an amazing group of organisations every year when we go to the awards, and this year what they are all doing is really inspiring.”

Kraus said the EY team were surprised to be named as the winner in 2018 but its a goal they’d been working towards for a long time.

“It’s been five years of really hard work.” Kraus said noting that back in 2013 the company landed in the 35th position nationally.  “To get from where we were five years ago to where we are today has been a lot of hard work, a lot of resilience and a lot of persistence.”

Kraus said the organisation had invested a lot of time into making sure that EY was not only an attractive workplace for LGBTI employees but also ensuring that the entire workplace was inclusive of everybody.

“We’ve done a lot of awareness training and education, but also brought in some partners that have helped us focus on that journey.” Kraus said citing a collaboration with mental health group Reach Out as a key ingredient in the company’s change management process.

The process of bringing in change at EY has involved everything from having a great time marching in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, to holding awareness sessions for staff members, and sponsoring Sydney’s gay rugby team The Convicts.

“It’s not just for employees who identify as LGBTIQ.” Kraus said, “There are also parents among our staff who have children who are coming out, and it’s created a support network for them too.”

EY have also been eager to share there experiences with other companies in their industry, encouraging their competitors and collaborates to also embrace diversity.

“There’s not just one thing you can do that’s going to make a different, its got to be everything and its got to be constant.”

Kraus said she was particularly proud of the fact that EY had been one of the first large companies to voice support for marriage equality.

“That was tough because as an organisation we went out early on and said we were supportive, when maybe that’s not where everyone was at. We had a lot of people challenge us, and question us.” Kraus said.

“We did know that we could speak on behalf of our employees and say that they wanted an inclusive workplace, and that’s what we try to create everyday.”

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

More than 700 business leaders, diversity champions, HR professionals and many more actively working on LGBTI inclusion came together at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney to celebrate the results of Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI); a rigorous, evidence-based benchmarking instrument that assesses workplaces in the work and impact of their LGBTI inclusion initiatives.

INSIGHTS MAGAZINE – 26 May, 2018

Uniting has won three awards in the 2018 Australian Workplace Equity Index (AWEI), recognising the faith-based organisation for its commitment to inclusivity and support for the LGBTIQ community.

The AWEI awards are an independent benchmark of the actions taken by Australian organisations as LGBTIQ-inclusive employers. More than 130 organisations entered the 2018 AWEI awards by demonstrating their inclusiveness in the previous calendar year, which are then benchmarked against other organisations.

“All Uniting community services, including youth services, aged care and chaplaincy, are backed by an organisation-wide commitment to inclusion and diversity. We welcome all people irrespective of sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, or intersex status,” Uniting Director Customer, People and Systems, Jill Reich said.

The three AWEI awards presented to Uniting in 2018 are:

1. A gold employer award, one of only 12 awarded and the only non-government not­ for-profit to receive the award this year;
2. The award for Trans and Gender Diverse Inclusion; and
3. Uniting team member, Kimberly Olsen, was awarded the Sapphire Inspire Award for lesbian, bi or trans women of influence in the workforce.

In the last two years Uniting has also won the following AWEI awards;  the Pride in Diversity gold employer award and Best Not-For-Profit in 2016, and a silver employer award in 2017.

The Uniting Church Synod of NSW/ACT General Secretary, Rev. Jane Fry congratulated Uniting for their achievements.

“How fantastic to see Uniting recognised (again) for its inspiring work and ongoing commitment to inclusivity in all its operations. This is a real example of what it means to recognise the image of God in all people,” said Rev. Fry.

Ms Reich said that confronting injustice in order to create an inclusive and just world is one of the major aims of Uniting.

“This includes advocating for compassion and inclusivity for all Australians, including the many LGBTIQ members of our community,” Ms Reich said.

“These awards recognise Uniting’s ethos of welcoming people exactly as they are. In addition to promoting inclusivity within the workplace, Uniting teams also proudly participate in LGBTIQ community events across the state, including the Broken Heel Festival in Broken Hill, Fruitopia Festival in Lismore, and Pride Marches in Dubbo.

“Uniting Church members have also participated in the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras since 1998, and have marched alongside Uniting in recent years.”

In addition to being the only faith based organisation to receive the AWEI awards, Uniting was also the first faith-based organisation in Australia to receive Rainbow Tick accreditation, which it first received in 2015 for aged care and corporate services.

STAR OBSERVER – MAY 25, 2018

Professional services firm EY has been named employer of the year for LGBTI inclusion at this year’s Australian LGBTI Inclusion Awards.

Hosted by ACON’s Pride in Diversity in Sydney, the event saw more than 700 business leaders, diversity champions, and professionals gather to celebrate the results of the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI).

The index itself is an evidence-based benchmarking instrument used to assess workplaces in the work and impact of their LGBTI inclusion initiatives.

This year’s top employers spanned were diverse, spanning various levels of government (Australian Taxation Office and Brisbane City Council), retails (Woolworths), higher education (RMIT University), and energy resources (AGL Energy).

Director of ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, Dawn Hough, said the index has seen remarkable growth over the first eight years of its life.

“This year we’ve see the most significant change in the diversity of our top employers and a much higher growth in participation of our small employers which we are delighted about,” she said.

“ACON congratulates all award winners recognised today on their significant achievement and for showing great leadership in the area of diversity and inclusion.”

Twelve organisations were awarded gold employer status, with an additional four being awarded platinum status for the longevity of their high performance spanning at least four of the last five years (Westpac, LendLease, Accenture, and Commonwealth Bank).

The AWEI saw 135 employers across Australia participate this year, a 16 per cent increase on 2017 participation.

The employee survey attached to the index received 23,130 responses, an increase of 38 per cent.

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

See the full list of 2018 Australian LGBTI Inclusion Awards recipients below: