DLA Piper, The Star Entertainment Group, McCullough Robertson Lawyers, Macquarie Group and The University of Queensland are among this year’s top employers announced at this year’s Australian LGBTQ+ Inclusion Awards held in Sydney today.
Both DLA Piper and The Star Entertainment Group tied for ‘Employer of the Year,’ while McCullough Robertson Lawyers was announced as ‘Small Employer of the Year.’
Other top honours went to organisations including Accenture, AGL, Australian Taxation Office, Capgemini, Clayton Utz, Deloitte, EY Oceania, MinterEllison, NAB, PwC, QBE Insurance, Queensland Department of Education, RMIT University, Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), UNSW Sydney, and Woolworths Group.
These 16 organisations are members of Pride in Diversity and were recognised for their long-term, high scoring performance within the AWEI Submission. In obtaining Gold Tier Status for four out of the last five consecutive submission years, their results firmly establish them as Platinum Tier Employers. This is the highest ranking within the AWEI Submission results.
First held in 2011, the Awards are based on the results of the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) Submissions, which allows Australian organisations to benchmark their LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and practice on an annual basis. The event acknowledges and celebrates the organisations demonstrating foundational and progressive efforts toward making all workplaces inclusive for all.
Dawn Emsen-Hough, Director of ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, said she was proud to see employers around the country continue to commit themselves to improving LGBTQ+ inclusion practice despite issues that are continuing to have an impact globally.
“We have some record-breaking results within the AWEI Submissions this year, highlighting the importance that participating organisations are placing on this work. We know from the AWEI Employee Survey that many within our community have been impacted by the negativity and misinformation that is playing out in social media and the country more broadly. The number of people out to all at work is continuing to decrease with respondents indicating that this is a significant reason. It is therefore critical that there remains a high level of focus on this important aspect of Diversity and Inclusion,” Emsen-Hough said.
“These awards are a testament to the remarkable commitment of organisations who understand that importance and the individuals who are strong visible allies for LGBTQ+ people at their places of work. We hope this sends a powerful message to Australian employees that we are working incredibly hard to ensure that you can feel safe and empowered to bring your whole self to work.”
This year, the Australian LGBTQ+ Inclusion Awards were hosted by drag icon Courtney Act and broadcaster Jeremy Fernandez and held for the first time at the ICC Grand Ballroom.
The sold-out event is produced by Pride in Diversity, the national not-for-profit diversity inclusion program spearheaded by Australia’s largest LGBTQ+ health organisation ACON.
ENDS
For more information please contact: David Alexander, ACON Media and Communications
E: dalexander@acon.org.au T: (02) 9206 2044 M: 0428 477 042
2024 Australian Inclusion Award Recipients
| AWEI Award | Recipient | |||
| Employer of the Year
(Joint Recipients) |
DLA Piper
The Star Entertainment Group |
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| CEO of the Year | David Locke, Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) | |||
| Employee Network of the Year | Macquarie Group | |||
| Trans and Gender Diverse Inclusion | The University of Queensland | |||
| Executive Leadership | George Hughes, The Star Entertainment Group | |||
| Network Leader of the Year
(Joint Recipients) |
Luke Nixon, Brisbane City Council
Craig Dumas, The Star Entertainment Group |
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| Out Role Model | Kim Lee, NAB | |||
| LGBTQ+ Inclusive Innovation | “Voices of Our People,” KPMG Australia | |||
| Sapphire Inspire | Maggi Hughes, EY Oceania | |||
| Sally Webster Ally Award | Anthony Massaro, Russell Kennedy Lawyers | |||
| Platinum Employers | · Accenture
· AGL Energy · Australian Taxation Office · Capgemini · Clayton Utz · Deloitte · EY Oceania · MinterEllison · NAB |
· PwC
· Queensland Department of Education · QBE Insurance · RMIT University · Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) · UNSW Sydney · Woolworths Group |
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| Gold Employers | · Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
· Allens · Amazon · American Express · Australia Post · Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) · Brisbane City Council · Coles · Corrs Chambers Westgarth · CSIRO · Department of Health and Aged Care · DLA Piper · Fujitsu · Griffith University · KPMG Australia |
· Lion
· Macquarie Group · Macquarie University · Monash University · nbn co · Norton Rose Fulbright Australia · Origin Energy · Qantas · SAP Australia · Scentre Group · Services Australia · Stockland · The NRMA · The Star Entertainment Group · The University of Queensland · The University of Sydney · Victoria University · Westpac |
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| Silver Employers | · Allianz Australia
· AstraZeneca · Charter Hall · Dentons · Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry · Dexus · Edith Cowan University · Energy Australia · Gold Coast Health · Gold Corporation (Perth Mint · International Convention Centre Sydney – ICC Sydney · Jacobs · Maddocks |
· Marsh McLennan (Mercer)
· Monash IVF · NSW Department of Education · QIC Limited · Salesforce · Shell Australia · Suncorp · Telstra · The GPT Group · TPG Telecom · Transgrid · Treasury Wine Estates · Victoria Police · Woodside Energy · Zurich Financial Services |
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| Bronze Employers | · 7-Eleven Australia
· AECOM · Alcoa Australia · ARUP · Attorney Generals’ Department · Aurecon · Australian Federal Police · Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) · Australian Retirement Trust · Bank of Queensland · Bendigo and Adelaide Bank · BUPA · CBRE · Charles Sturt University · Compass Group · Cushman & Wakefield · Datacom · Department of Health Victoria · Department of Home Affairs · Endeavour Group · Grant Thornton · HCF · IAG · IFM Investors |
· ING
· Insignia Financial · IQVIA · John Holland Group · JP Morgan · Kinetic · King & Wood Mallesons · Life without Barriers · Mars Australia · MediaBrands · Medibank · Metcash Trading Ltd · MSD – Merck Sharp & Dohme Pty Limited · NSW Police Force · Pacific National · Publicis Groupe · Queensland Department of Health · Sodexo · TAL · Thales Group · The University of Wollongong · Transdev · Virtus Health · WSP Australia · + 3 not for publication |
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| Small Employer of the Year | McCullough Robertson Lawyers | |||
| Platinum Small Employer | Deutsche Bank | |||
| Gold Small Employers | · Clifford Chance
· Custom Fleet · Liberty Financial |
· McCullough Robertson Lawyers
· Northern Trust · Russell Kennedy Lawyers |
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| Small Silver Employers | · Future Group
· Investa |
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| Small Bronze Employers
|
· AbbVie
· American Express Global Business Travel · Australian Payments Plus · Clyde & Co · Envato · Energetics · Fidelity International |
· Gilead Sciences
· Motorola Solutions · Page Group (Michael Page) · PaperCut Software · RAM Group · Roche Products · Think HQ · Watson Farley & Williams |
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