Join us as we champion the diversity & inclusion trailblazers across Scotland’s companies and organisations, individuals, third sector organisations and community groups. The Herald & GenAnalytics Diversity Awards for Scotland will take place on Friday, September 13 at Radisson Blu, Glasgow.
The evening includes a welcome drinks reception, 3 course meal, entertainment, official event programme, evening networking and the awards presentation.
Tickets sales opening soon.
The Herald and GenAnalytics Diversity Awards for Scotland honours the achievements of Scotland’s organisations, individuals and community groups who are demonstrating a strong commitment to ensuring that everyone in our society has the opportunity to fulfil their ambitions, aspirations and potential.
Small to medium sized businesses, organisations and charities are vital to Scotland’s economy. This award will recognise the commitment shown by an organisation who maximise all the talents in their workforce to benefit and grow their organisation. The winning organisation will be able to provide strong evidence of active policies for promoting diversity and a strong track record of hiring and retaining individuals from diverse backgrounds.
The judges will be looking for:
This award will recognise a business, organisation or charity that has demonstrated outstanding commitment and leadership to harnessing the benefits of a diverse workforce internally and externally. The winner will also understand the business case for diversity within their industry and be able to demonstrate this in their entry.
The Judges will be looking for:
This award will recognise best practice and innovation within the Scottish education sector linked to championing greater diversity and inclusion for students, staff or local communities. Programmes or initiatives can be showcased or examples of diversity and inclusion achieved in teaching or through research work. Applications are sought from schools, colleges, universities or other organisations within the education sector who can demonstrate their core purpose is the transfer of learning or knowledge to others.
The judges will be looking for:
Sport and physical activity can break down barriers and bring people together individuals for a common goal. This award will recognise a business, charity, third sector organisation or sports club or organisation that has used the power of sport to drive forward diversity and inclusion in their community.
The judges will be looking for:
This award will be presented to an organisation that has delivered an outstanding campaign to promote the benefits of diversity and inclusion. The winning campaign will demonstrate the values of diversity and inclusion and is open to entries from community organisations, the private and public sector, the third sector, and any charity.
The judges will be looking for:
We need more Heroes to champion the benefits of an inclusive and diverse workforce. This award will celebrate an individual who has campaigned to highlight diversity and has worked to make a difference or has been an inspirational role model to others.
The judges will be looking for:
This award will recognise best practice and outstanding progress by agencies and organisations within the public sector who have made significant improvement in ensuring greater diversity and inclusion in the delivery of their services to communities or clients, or who can demonstrate progress within their own organisation in diversity and inclusion.
The judges will be looking for:
This award will recognise the contribution of social enterprises to the diversity and inclusion agenda and will be awarded to an organisation who can demonstrate the benefits of adopting diversity to further the aims and ambitions of their social enterprise.
The judges will be looking for:
The UK is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and Scotland by 2045. This award will recognise outstanding progress by organisations who have are helping ensure greater diversity and inclusion in the workplace as part of wider skills development as Scotland works towards net zero.
Applications are sought from companies, education establishments, NGOs and other organisations whose work directly relates to net zero sectors (e.g. energy, transport, construction, circular economy). Applicants should be able to demonstrate a commitment to diversity & inclusion in their approach to skills, culture and organisational development, or through a contribution to wider sector development.
This may include including supporting early careers, providing training and qualifications, being a family-friendly employer or helping older workers to learn new skills.
The Judges will be looking for:
This award will be presented to an organisation of any size, from any sector who has kept diversity and inclusion at its forefront whilst delivering a project in Scotland. We are looking for entries that can provide evidence of an inclusive design process including accessible design and assistive technology to enable the broadest range of users.
The judges will be looking for:
Once you have decided on the category, or categories, you would like to enter, please click the Enter Now button where you will be directed to our Awards Entry form.
You will be asked to create an account, this will allow you to save your entry and go back to update prior to submitting.
You may also download the word version of the form to work offline before completing on the entry site.
If you have any questions regarding the entry process, please see the FAQ section below or get in touch via the details at the bottom of this page.
ENTRY DEADLINE: Friday, May 31
Director, GenAnalytics
Jane Gotts is a founding partner and Director at GenAnalytics Ltd.
She has vast experience in business and economic consultancy, growing commercial revenue streams, strategic business planning and international business development.
Prior to setting up GenAnalytics Ltd Jane was Director of International Business Development at Glasgow Caledonian University with responsibility for driving the university’s international business development strategy in key overseas markets including the USA, South Africa and Brazil.
Jane played a key role in contributing to and supporting the Review of the Role of Women in Scotland’s Economy authored by Professor Lesley Sawers and launched LeanIn Scotland in May 2014 which has to date engaged with over 400 women.
Prior to joining GCU she spent 10 years at the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, Scotland’s leading independent economic development organisation, where she had responsibility for developing and delivering the organisation’s international and commercial strategy. At SCDI she led over 50 trade visits to overseas markets in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia, including high profile delegations with the First Minister of Scotland and senior UK Cabinet Ministers.
Jane has recently acted as the Adviser to the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee at the Scottish Parliament for their inquiry into Internationalising Scotland’s Businesses which reported in May 2015.
She has a degree in Politics from the University of Glasgow.
Head of Communications & Marketing, sportscotland
Kate has worked in media and communications for more than 30 years in various roles both in-house and agency. She was PR Manager for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and has been Head of Communications and Marketing at sportscotland since 2015. She is a board member of the Homeless World Cup Foundation and has been volunteering with the organisation since 2018. In both these roles she has seen the power sport has to change lives. She believes that everyone should have access to sport and physical activity and it should be a welcoming community for all.
Development Director, Scotland – Common Purpose
Lynn has a passion to bring people together to drive social impact and provide opportunities for learning and development. Having recently joined Common Purpose in 2023, as the Development Director for Scotland, Lynn has extensive experience in supporting transformational change through designing, delivering and facilitating programmes, and leading on strategic projects and events.
Common Purpose are committed to diversity in Scotland and has been both developing and showcasing under-represented talent across the country for over 30 years – most recently working in partnership with Baillie Gifford to support community leaders from minority ethnic communities to create a greater impact in their own communities and beyond. Inclusive leadership is at the core of all Common Purpose programmes – equipping our participants to lead more diverse organisations and communities.
Before joining Common Purpose, Lynn worked in Media and Events for 16 years before joining the charity sector in 2018. In 2022 Lynn launched Scotland’s first community start up Village ‘Square Go’ as part of an Intrapreneurship Project with YE Scotland, to provide inclusive opportunities for under-represented young people with a business idea.
Her passion for positive change, inclusivity and parody of esteem have been a continuous focus throughout her career.
Director of Audit Quality and Appointments, Audit Scotland
Living with cerebral palsy, Elaine understands the challenges of managing a disability and enjoys adapted sports including skiing, flying and trike riding. She has been a charity trustee for over 20 years. In 2020 and 2022 Elaine was named in the Shaw Trust Disability Power100 awards which recognise the 100 most influential disabled people in the UK.
Elaine was awarded an OBE in the 2023 King’s new year’s honours list for her charity and public services. Her motto is “don’t be pushed by your problems, be led by your dreams”.
Rupa is an employment lawyer and a strong advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion within the legal profession. Her role as Director of People & Development at a Scottish law firm ignited a particular interest in mental health and wellbeing, increasing representation of individuals from ethnically diverse backgrounds, and improving socio-economic diversity within workplaces. She sits on the Law Society of Scotland’s Equality and Diversity Committee, the Scottish Ethnic Minorities Lawyer’s Association (SEMLA) Committee and the Scotland National Advisory committee for Action for Children. Rupa is also a BBC Scotland contributor, a radio presenter on Awaz FM, an events host and volunteers at her local Gurdwara, advising young people on employability and career matters.
Who can enter?
Anyone can submit a nomination, but they must be based in Scotland.
Why should I enter?
Not only does being shortlisted (or better yet, winning) an award mean you will be recognised as a diversity and inclusion champion, it is also a major morale boost for you or your workforce and is a great PR opportunity both at the event and long after. If you win, you will also receive a trophy for your display cabinet!
How do I enter?
You must complete our entry form via the online link to submit a nomination or you can request a Word version of the form to work offline by contacting sharon.franchetti@newsquest.co.uk. Head to the ‘How to Enter’ section above for instructions.
Can I enter more than one category?
You can submit as many nominations as you like across the different categories. The categories and the criteria for each can be found in the ‘Categories’ section above.
What is the deadline for entries?
The entry deadline is Friday, May 31st
How much does it cost?
It is free to enter the awards.
Tickets to attend the awards are as follows:
Table of 12 – £1,400+VAT
Table of 10 – £1,300+VAT
Individual tickets – £135+VAT
What happens next once I’ve entered?
Once you have submitted an entry the Judges will have access to your entry to review. Once the judging session has taken place, we will contact you to let you know if your entry has been shortlisted or not.
How does the judging process work?
All the entries we receive will be considered by our expert judging panel at the judging session in June. Please note that the shortlist and winners are decided solely by our panel and do not come down to a public vote or number of nominations received.
When will the shortlist be announced?
The shortlist will be listed in The Herald and on this website in June.
When will the winners be announced?
The winners will be announced at our glittering awards ceremony on Friday 13th September in Glasgow. More information on the event and tickets can be found in the ‘Event’ section.
What do I do if I have more questions?
We are happy to answer any additional questions you may have regarding the entry process or event. Please contact Events Manager, Sharon Franchetti on 07990 551 065 or Sharon.Franchetti@newsquest.co.uk with any enquiries.
