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Telstra has become the first Australian company to win the prestigious Catalyst Award, an annual international award for initiatives that support and advance women in the workplace.
Telstra received the award for its Next Generation Gender Diversity: Accelerating Change for Women Leaders initiative, which has helped boost the number of women in management and executive roles in the company.
The Next Generation Gender Diversity initiative uses an integrated approach to increase women’s representation at senior and pipeline levels and engage men as change agents, creating an inclusive culture of mentoring and networking.
The Catalyst Award annually honors innovative approaches with proven results taken by organisations to address the recruitment, development, and advancement of all managerial women, including women of colour.
On receiving the Catalyst Award in New York last month, CEO of Telstra David Thodey said, “I accept this Award on behalf of Telstra’s employees. We are proud of our progress which has seen an increase in the representation of women in management and executive roles. We are only at the beginning of our journey and over the coming months will be doing even more towards creating a workforce that celebrates diversity and reflects our customer base and community.”
Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Ms Elizabeth Broderick welcomed the announcement of Australia’s first Catalyst Award.
“Winning the 2010 Catalyst Award for its Next Generation Gender Diversity group of initiatives demonstrates that Telstra has achieved something significant with its commitment to gender equality in business. It not only recognises the company’s internal commitment, but its external commitment to women’s leadership through initiatives such as the Telstra Business Women’s Awards,” she said.
“With the upcoming changes to the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Guidelines about women on boards and in management, I encourage other Australian organisations to follow this lead and commit to strong gender equality initiatives.”
Other recipients of the 2010 Catalyst Awards include: Campbell Soup Company, Deloitte, and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
Campbell Soup Company’s initiative, Winning in the Workplace, Winning in the Marketplace, Winning With Women, utilised employee engagement, knowledge sharing, and innovation to develop a culture of diversity and inclusion.
Deloitte’s The Women’s Initiative: Living the Lattice created significant change in the company’s culture and provided an engine for innovation, becoming a model for other organizations in the process.
RBC’s initiative, Client First Transformation: Achieving Business Results and Cultural Revitalization Through Diversity, embeds diversity and inclusion principles into its approach with employees, clients, and communities.
Speaking at the Catalyst Awards Conference last month, Ilene H. Lang, President and Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst said, “What makes this year’s winning initiatives so successful is that they didn’t aim for minor improvements or incremental change. They went for game changers. They realized that in changing workplaces, they can change lives, and this year’s winners are examples of how it’s done.”
For complete descriptions of past and present Catalyst Award-winning initiatives and the Catalyst Awards Conference, please visit www.catalyst.org.