Commonwealth Bank and Westpac among big winners at this year’s LGBTI inclusion awards
Image: Image: Ann-Marie Calilhanna.
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:
| Award | Recipient |
| Employer of the Year | EY |
| LGBTI Employee Network of the Year | Prism, EnergyAustralia |
| CEO of the Year | Luke Sayers, PwC |
| Platinum Employers | LendLease, Accenture, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank of Australia |
| Gold Employers | ANZ, Uniting, AGL Energy, Australian Taxation Office, Mercer (Australia) Pty Ltd, Brisbane City Council, Clayton Utz, RMIT University, Deloitte Australia, Deutsche Bank Australia, Woolworths, EY |
| Small Employer | Key Assets, The Children’s Services Provider (Australia) |
| Most Improved Employer | TAL |
| Trans/Gender Diverse Inclusion | Uniting |
| External Media Campaign | Hold Tight, ANZ |
| Executive Leadership | James Collins, PwC |
| Network Leader of the Year | Mark Hodgson, Alcoa |
| Out Role Model | Angus Lonergan, YMCA NSW |
| Sapphire Inspire | Kimberly Olsen, Uniting |
| The Sally Webster Ally Award | Melissa Tandy, ANZ |
The CBA might be good at staff but their staff aren’t much good at customers.
There are middle and upper levels of management that are sadly lacking in their view of efficiency and this is particularly manifest in its IT division.
I have been with the bank for 55 years and am in the process of moving on.