The company realised there was a gap between its policies and its goal of becoming a truly accessible workplace
The winner of New Zealand’s top workplace diversity award has been announced, demonstrating excellence in more than one diversity category and a commitment to integrating an inclusive culture right across its business.
The energy and communications services provider Vector Limited took out the Supreme Award at the 2019 Diversity Awards NZ following wins in the Empowerment and Diversability categories, which recognise innovative responses to gender equity and positive employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Vector Limited acknowledged it operates in a male-dominated industry where gender diversity has been an issue for many years, so they committed to increasing the number of women employed from 30 per cent to 50.8 percent to be representative of New Zealand’s working age population.
The company also developed a Women in Leadership programme, to identify and grow female leadership at all levels of the organisation and undertook a pay equity audit.
In the disability space, the company realised there was a gap between its policies and its goal of becoming a truly accessible workplace.
It set about to close that gap with a raft of changes including making workspaces more accessible and introducing new technology for hearing and sight-impaired employees, revising recruitment practices, training senior staff in unconscious bias and supporting employees with mental health challenges.
Judging Convener Neil Porteous said senior level support for workplace inclusion at Vector and an active employee-led Diversity Council ensured ideas and initiatives were actioned, providing benefits to a significant proportion of its workforce.
“It’s fantastic to see a large organisation in a male-dominated industry making a genuine commitment to improving gender equity and showing the way for other large organisations to stop seeing employment of people with disabilities as a burden.”
The 2019 Diversity Awards NZ, celebrating excellence in workplace diversity and inclusion, were presented this evening at a gala dinner in Auckland.
The event was attended by more than 600 business representatives from the public and private sector and the Hon Iain Lees-Galloway, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety.
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Here is a list of all winners
Supreme Award
Vector Limited
Cultural Celebration Award
Air New Zealand - Te rōpū Te Ara Nui
Highly commended
IAG New Zealand
Walk the Talk Award – joint winners
Catherine Smith, Auckland Museum
Craig Hudson, Xero
Skills Highway Award
Simcro Limited
Diversability Award
Vector Limited
Empowerment Award
Vector Limited
Highly Commended
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
Small Organisation Excellence Award in Empowerment
She Sharp
Tomorrow's Workforce Award
Constellation Brands New Zealand
Work Life Balance Award
Sharesies
Highly Commended
Department of Internal Affairs
Emerging Diversity and Inclusion Award
Yellow NZ Ltd
Positive Inclusion Award
MediaWorks
