Revealed: Finalists for 2020 Rainbow Excellence Awards

‘This year, it has been fantastic to see a higher representation of entrants from the public sector’

Revealed: Finalists for 2020 Rainbow Excellence Awards

The New Zealand Rainbow Excellence Awards have announced this year’s finalists, recognising organisations that are building a more inclusive community of workplaces across the country.

The winners will be announced at the 2020 Awards ceremony on Friday 09 October at Auckland’s SKYCITY Theatre.

The annual New Zealand Rainbow Excellence Awards brings together organisations striving to improve diversity and inclusion for LBGTI+ people, and celebrates the achievements being made in workplace leadership, innovation, best practice, and collaboration.

Read more: Inside Medibank's LGBTI inclusion program

The categories for the 2020 Awards include The Westpac Supreme Award, The Rainbow Tick Training and Development Award, The SKYCITY Community and Advocacy Award, The Simpson Grierson Impact Award, The Partners Life Emerging Award, The Newmarket Business Association Executive Leadership Award, The Westpac SME Award, The Chorus Ambassadorship Award, The Grant Thornton Innovation Award, The Rainbow Tick Non-Commercial Sector Award and The Purple Sherbet Representation in Marketing Award.

The finalists across the 11 categories are; ASB, Kathmandu Ltd, Kiwibank, New Zealand Defence Force, Weta Digital, Auckland Council, Auckland Museum, Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and New Zealand Security Intelligence Services (NZSIS), Vodafone, Go Orange, NZSki, Qtopia, State Services Commission, Chorus, Microsoft New Zealand and Repromed.

Read more: How to support LGBTQ rights at work

The Awards Director, Martin King said the caliber of entries for the 2020 Awards has been exceptional.

“It truly showcases the increasing number of New Zealand organisations understanding the importance and value of welcoming sexual and gender diversity. We spend most of our waking lives at work, so creating safe, inclusive workplaces continues to be more important than ever,” said King.

“This year, it has been fantastic to see a higher representation of entrants from the public sector, as well as a larger regional spread, with an increase of entries from the South Island. We look forward to celebrating the finalists and announcing the winners at the Awards in October.”