There is still time to enter The Herald and GenAnalytics Diversity Awards, which ofer recognition to outstanding work being carried out within Scottish organisations, third sector and community groups. 

The awards, sponsored by BAE Systems, City Building, City of Glasgow College, Diageo, MacRoberts LLP, ScottishPower, Taylor Wimpey, SQA, CIPD, Deloitte, JP Morgan and the University of Edinburgh Business School,are looking for businesses who are demonstrating a strong commitment in ensuring that everyone in society can maximise their potential.

Two new categories for this year include Diversity in Sport and the Age Inclusive Award sponsored by the University of Edinburgh Business School.  This year there are fourteen award categories available which enable outstanding D&I work to be recognised.

All entries are free and should be submitted via our online entry form found at  http://newsquestscotlandevents.com/events/the-diversity-awards/ by the final deadline of Thursday, August 22.  For more information on entering the awards please contact Lyndsay Wilson, Events Director on 0141 302 6037.

The Awards' backers are urging  businesses, charities, community groups and other organisations to submit entries. 

Stacey Winters, partner at Deloitte, said: "We are delighted to be supporting the Rising Star Diversity Award. It’s crucial that we support and celebrate rising stars who successfully navigate the diversity and inclusion landscape to drive better outcomes for all and this award helps shine a spotlight on the tremendous work being achieved by many individuals.

"We strongly encourage you to nominate peers and colleagues that have demonstrated a strong commitment of promoting diversity and inclusion and look forward to hearing all the incredible examples.The Herald:

Jennifer Blee, Naval Ships Procurement Director, BAE Systems, said: "Diversity Awards are a great opportunity to recognise the work people are doing to create an inclusive culture, environment, and way of working which lends itself to creating a more diverse workforce.

Lee Ann Panglea, Head of CIPD Scotland and Northern Ireland, added: “The Herald/GenAnalytics Diversity awards celebrate organisations who understand the value of diversity and the business case for creating a more diverse workforce. We would urge anyone who is doing great work in Scotland to champion diversity and inclusion to enter the awards before Thursday's deadline."

Sarah McNulty, Director of Strategic HRM, ScottishPower, said: “ScottishPower are delighted to be sponsoring the Diversity Star Performer: Recruitment of Talents award this year.  If you’ve been using creative methods to engage and select great candidates, we want to hear from you. By doing so you can play your part in helping shape a more inclusive culture in businesses across Scotland."

Katy Wedderburn, Head of Employment at MacRoberts LLP, said: “With only a few days left to enter the Diversity Awards, I can only urge you to consider submitting an entry. This is your chance to celebrate and recognise your organisation's or colleagues' contribution to Diversity in the workplace. It is also a fantastic event to attend - full of inspirational stories and people.”

Audrey Ross, Sales & Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey West Scotland said: “Continuing our support of The Herald Diversity Awards for another year recognises the importance that we’ve placed on embracing diversity and inclusion within our business, and the opportunity it creates for the wider housebuilding industry. The Herald:

"The deadline to enter this year’s Awards is fast approaching, so I’d like to encourage businesses, organisations and groups who are equally committed to diversity and inclusion and the positive benefits that it can bring to get involved, and to take the opportunity to share their journey and successful initiatives.”                                         

Professor Wendy Loretto, Dean of the University of Edinburgh Business School, which is backing the Age Inclusive Award said Scotland's ageing workforce represents a great opportunity for businesses and organisations.

"It will be fascinating to see how private companies and public bodies are addressing the need to be age-inclusive employers," she added. "Our research shows that helping people extend their working lives makes sense from both economic and personal wellbeing points of view but often there’s a gap between employers’ and employees’ understanding of how to go about it.

"Often there is a perceived trade-off between focusing on ‘older’ versus ‘younger’ workers, but getting the balance correct is crucial to accessing the broadest range of talent.”

James Mahoney, Head of Global Technology Diversity and Inclusion, said: “At J.P. Morgan, we are committed to giving back to communities around the world – our Force for Good program is an 8-month social innovation program where current J.P. Morgan technology employees build tech solutions for non-profit organisations.

"Being passionate about giving back, we are sponsoring the Diversity in the Third Sector award. We recognise the great impact social enterprises are making in their communities and look forward to highlighting an organisation that is actively taking steps to improve diversity and inclusion through the incredible social work that they do.”