HSBC was among the employers recognised for their efforts and commitment towards establishing a diverse workforce at the Inclusive Awards 2023.
The bank’s UK inclusion team took home the Diversity Team of the Year Award at the ceremony, which took place in London yesterday (5 December).
This year’s winners also included Liz Douglas of Anglo American, who was presented with the Head of Diversity & Inclusion Award and Stuart Love of Westminster City Council, who received the Chief Executive of the Year Award.
Equality Leaders won the D&I Consultancy of the Year Award, while myGwork took home the D&I Tech Initiative Award.
Organised by Inclusive Companies, the event was hosted by TV presenter and diversity champion Sean Fletcher.
He said: “The Inclusive Awards are a great opportunity to celebrate those individuals and organisations who have done so well this year. More importantly, this event acts as a spark of inspiration for others to see what can be achieved and is hugely encouraging for others looking to bring about positive change in attitudes, behaviours and outcomes in their own circles.
Other award winners on the night included Metro Bank, which received the Inclusive Culture Initiative Award, Aviva Origins, which won the Outstanding Diversity Network Award and Migrant Leaders, which took home the Social Mobility Project Award.
The prestigious Lifetime Achiever award was presented to Dr Yvonne Thompson CBE.
Fletcher added: “It’s an honour for me to be on the stage meeting those people who have put so much into their work and rewarding them for their outstanding achievements. I love the way the Inclusive Awards bring together so many people doing such great work: the atmosphere in the room is electric, full of energy and respect for everyone who is playing their part in promoting diversity and inclusion.”
All entries across the eight award categories were examined by an independent judging panel from a range of diverse backgrounds, who identified the people and businesses they felt had best demonstrated achieving true diversity, inclusion, equality and equity at work or in the community.
“The Inclusive Awards is always such a positive and feel-good evening,” said Paul Sesay, CEO of Inclusive Companies and founder of the Inclusive Awards. “Now in its ninth year, it never fails to make me feel both humbled and proud to witness the immense efforts and achievements of people and organisations taking giant steps to make their workplace, communities and wider society more inclusive and equitable.
“We know that encouraging and embracing an inclusive working environment brings business and market advantages, but it is imperative to look beyond these more obvious benefits to understand and believe that true diversity, inclusion and equity shape and build communities that make everyone stronger. At a time when across the world we are witnessing tragedies born out of an inability to accept diversity and be inclusive, it is never more important to acknowledge how fortunate we are to be able to foster positive change through our own actions.”
