The nominees for the 2019 Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Awards have been announced.
Forty individuals and teams have been nominated across award eight categories, which recognise officials who are helping the civil service move towards its goal to become the UK’s most inclusive and diverse workplace in the UK.
Six of the awards recognise efforts to champion D&I in specific areas: disability inclusion, faith and belief inclusion, race equality, social mobility, gender equality and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex inclusion.
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The Employee Network Excellence Award recognises networks that have helped to shape and drive the civil service D&I agenda, and the Cabinet Secretary’s Inclusion Award, which recognises those leading action to champion inclusion for multiple groups or those not likely to be included in other award categories.
Among the nominees for the cab sec award are the Community Rail Team, which has developed a strategy to use community rail activity to open up railways to a wider group of people, and the Department for International Development’s sexual harassment and personal safety working group, which has helped overhaul DfID's systems and guidance to address sexual harassment and relevant staff policies.
The GLD Social Mobility and Race Networks are also jointly nominated for their work to support recruitment of under-represented groups, as well as the Care Quality Commission Joint Network Voice, which is bringing together the regulator’s equality networks to share best practice and create shared goals.
Paul Young of HM Revenue and Customs’ guidance team, who volunteered to lead the team’s wellbeing initiatives after his experience feeling excluded after a brain injury, is also nominated for the cab sec award.
The awards will be presented at a ceremony on 4 October.
Commenting on the nominations, Sir Richard Heaton, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice and civil service race champion, said: "These awards are tremendously important and serve as a celebration of all the amazing work going on to make sure the civil service reflects the society it serves.
"We have set ourselves some ambitious targets. It is the outstanding work carried out by the likes of today's nominees, that is going to help us meet them."
Here are the remaining nominees for the 2019 awards:
Championing Disability Inclusion Award
- DVLA Mental Health Support Group (#Hope/Gobaith)
- Home Office Working Through Cancer Network
- Claire Bonney
- South West Wales Jobcentre Plus
- The Liverpool Neurodiversity Pilot team
Championing Faith and Belief Inclusion
- Faith and Belief Forum (FAB) - Hayley Rogers, Wasim Akhtar, Richard Emmens, Raspal Singh, Joel Wolchover
- Health Ethics Organ Donation Opt-out Team
- Kashmir Garton
- Nuzhat Ali
- The Civil Service Muslim Network
Championing Gender Equality Award
- Bernadette Thompson
- Defence Intelligence Gender Equality Group
- DWP Digital team
- European Women in Diplomacy Network
- Ofgem Women's Network
Championing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex (LGBTI) Inclusion Award
- Alice Pennicott
- Compass Network
- LGBTI Staff Network
- Environment Agency LGBT+ Network
- Mike Harris
Championing Race Equality Award
- Co-Chair Anita Bhalla and Bernadette Thompson – Race to the Top G6/7 Network
- Bristol Race Network
- Home Office / The NETWORK
- HR SCS Recruitment & Talent Team
- Sharon Madan
Championing Social Mobility Award
- DfE Social Mobility Network
- Durham Tees Valley Support for Schools Team
- DVLA Employability Skills Ambassadors
- Hastings Movement to Work Team
- Victoria Gray
Employee Network Excellence Award
- Fair Treatment Ambassador Service
- Faith and Minority Ethnic Network (FAME)
- HMRC Carers Network
- Home Office Working Through Cancer Network
- Race to the Top G6/7 Network
Read more about the nominees here.