Western Australian businesses that go above and beyond to promote diversity and inclusion have been honoured at the CCIWA Diversity and Inclusion Awards, in partnership with BHP.
The awards gala, held at Crown Perth on November 7th, celebrated the contribution made by businesses that show exceptional commitment to advancing equality in our community.
Almost 150 initiatives were nominated across 11 categories, with the winners selected by a panel of independent judges.
The categories included disability inclusion, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, Indigenous inclusion, gender equity and multicultural inclusion.
CCIWA Acting Chief Executive, Matt Golds, said the event shone a spotlight on the very best of WA.
“We had winners from businesses of every size, from small family operations to large multinational companies,” he said.
“That really highlights the way Diversity and Inclusion has been embraced by businesses at all levels.”
The CCIWA Diversity and Inclusion Awards were recognised by the World Chambers Congress, beating global competitors to take out the “Best D&I Initiative” award in September.
Mr Golds said the event, now in its second year, has gone from strength to strength.
“We can see from the calibre of finalists that WA is leading the way and while Diversity and Inclusion may be under attack from some quarters, there is still a very real commitment to it at a grass roots level,” he said.
“That’s because it makes good business sense to have workplaces that are inclusive. There’s a significant amount of research that shows businesses that excel at D&I are more profitable, and their staff and customers are more loyal.”
Mr Golds said CCIWA remained committed to celebrating the efforts of businesses to make WA a more inclusive place.
“Our biggest hope is that the Diversity and Inclusion Awards act as a beacon for other businesses by showing that equity doesn’t need to be difficult and can be embraced by all businesses,” he said.
“The beauty of many of these initiatives lies in their simplicity.
“We congratulate all the finalists and winners and thank them for their efforts to make WA the best place to live, work and do business.”
The CCIWA Diversity and Inclusion Awards, in partnership with BHP, were sponsored by Good Sammy, Fortescue and media partner 9News Perth.
About the winners:
Indigenous Inclusion: Sponsored by Perth Mint
Southern Aboriginal Corporation
Disability and Access Inclusion: Sponsored by Gen U
Beatty Park Leisure Centre
Cultural Inclusion: Sponsored by Industry Capability Network
Goldfields Aboriginal Business Chamber
LGBTQIA+: Sponsored by Rio Tinto
Ashara Wills, Let’s Queer the Air
The Michael Parker Gender Inclusion Award: Sponsored by CCIWA
FSC Civils
Community and Social Impact: Sponsored by Western Power
Valued Lives Foundation
Individual Change Maker: Sponsored by Curtin University
Angela Kickett
Workplace Wellbeing: Sponsored by RAC
Abidah Kassim Bachoo, Rio Tinto
Best D&I Initiative, Small Business: Sponsored by City of Swan
The Blue Room Theatre
Best D&I Initiative, Medium business: Sponsored by Epigroup
Winyama Contracting Group
Best D&I Initiative, Corporate Enterprise: Sponsored by Apprenticeship Support Australia
RAC WA
