Improving Diversity and Inclusiveness within the Public Sector

The Ministry of Social Development Award for excellence in improving diversity and inclusiveness within the public sector recognises organisations that are leading the drive for a diverse public sector workforce that is representative of all New Zealanders.

This award is for organisations that have shown excellence in promoting the inclusion of under-represented groups in their workforce.It rewards those organisations that have shown the biggest transformational change towards being inclusive.

New Zealanders are diverse, with a range of different perspectives and backgrounds. This diversity includes disabled people and people of different ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, gender and sexual orientations.

The public sector should reflect this diversity if it is to be responsive to the population it serves, and tap into the talent that brings fresh and innovative ways of working.

Criteria

The extent to which the project or organisation demonstrates:

• that its chief executive is actively championing the organisation’s commitment to having a diverse workforce
• leading employment practices and policies that support diversity and are inclusive of all current and potential employees
• a workplace environment that is accessible to and supportive of all employees
• a culture which is inclusive and promotes the wellbeing of its staff
• that it is monitoring progress and identifying areas for improvement in creating a diverse workforce.