Yettel, IBM and Paysafe are the winners of the prestigious Diversity at Work award for 2023.
The new winners of the prestigious Diversity at Work Awards were announced at a prominent ceremony on 19 March. 15 companies had submitted their DEI programmes in the Annual Responsible Business Awards, he 21st edition of the prestigious national competition for corporate social responsibility, sustainable development and diversity, organised by the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum (BBLF).
The winner was Yettel Bulgaria, IBM Bulgaria ranked second and Paysafe Bulgaria took the third place. The winning companies in the Diversity at Work category received their awards from Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth Martin Gikov, and all entries were briefly presented during the official ceremony, which attracted over 250 guests from the executive branch, business community, civil sector, diplomats and media.
The prestigious Workplace Diversity Award was introduced as part of the Annual Responsible Business Awards three years ago to recognize best practice in creating diverse teams and inclusive working environments. As one of the founding members of the Diversity Charter in Bulgaria*, the BBLF thus seeks to promote corporate strategies and initiatives to foster diverse teams, equal opportunity and inclusion.
The winners are determined by an independent and objective juryof representatives from relevant institutions and members of the Charter Advisory Board.
Yettel Bulgaria won the gold with its comprehensive diversity and inclusion policy, part of the corporate sustainability strategy. By implmeneting a series of programmes and initiatives the company works to create an inclusive working environment so that everyone feels accepted and free to be themselves. The award was received by Denitsa Sotirova, HR Business Partner and Head of the Side by Side programme for people with different abilities.
IBM Bulgaria took the silver with the RiseUp Women Leadership Accelerator - an academy for women leaders that aims to develop the leadership skills of women at IBM. "Our programme was conceived in Bulgaria and is now being implemented on four continents," Violeta Karanacheva-Tsvetanova, University Relations, Diversity and Training Manager, said at the award ceremony.
The bronze prize went to Paysafe Bulgaria where a culture of diversity and inclusion is fostered among employees, partners and customers. Bozhena Pandeliyeva, Corporate Communications Manager, and Petya Voynova, Human Resources Manager received the award.
This year’s competition saw a remarkable growth of entries in the Diversity at Work category. 15 nominations, or 25% more than last year, vie for the prestigious recognition within the Annual Responsible Business Awards. 15 entries submitted by 14 companies vied for the award. These includedCharter signatories: Electrohold, IBM Bulgaria, ITX Bulgaria (Inditex) which submitted two DEI initiatives, Mondelez Bulgaria, Sensata Technologies Bulgaria and Zagorka. They were also joined by a number of companies that also implement equality and inclusion values: DXC Technology, Kin + Carta, Paysafe Bulgaria, PRESTIGE-96, SoftServe, SumUp, Yettel Bulgaria and Kamenitsa. For more information on the entries in this category, see the Awards Archive.
DEI campaigns ranked in Top 3 in the category will be invited to share their experiences in the now traditional best practice webinar exchange aimed at diversity, equality and inclusion professionals and experts. The online event will take place on 2 April, in the run-up to European Diversity Month, which will take place in all EU Member States in May.
In addition, the winners get an added bonus, an invitation to the official opening of the European Diversity Month on 25 April in Brussels. The high-level event is organised by the European Platform of Diversity Charters that unites all national Charters in all EU member states, including the Bulgarian Charter.
The annual Responsible Business Awards are a landmark and long-standing project of the BFBL, providing a prestigious platform for responsible companies and their successful and inspiring ESG campaigns in support of people, society and nature, implemented in 2023.
The event was extensively covered by the media and some of the media reports are available on the following links: BTA, bTV(here and her), BNR, Investor, Manager, BGlobal, Your biznes, Invest-in-BG, NGOBG.Info, BG Predpriemach
For updates: #bblfawards2023, #responsiblebusiness.
*Bulgarian Diversity Charter
A joint initiative of the Centre for the Study of Democracy and the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum aimed to promote diversity management in Bulgaria by developing, launching and implementing a national Diversity Charter.
The official launch of the Bulgarian Diversity Charter took place in September 2020, and Bulgaria was the 25th EU member state to join the EU Platform of Diversity Charters and benefit from the exchange of ideas, good practice and resources between the national charters.
Today, the Bulgarian Charter brings together over 70 signatories, mostly private companies but also NGOs covering their 6,500 employees. By signing the Charter, companies make a public commitment to recognize and embrace diversity, equal opportunities and social inclusion as part of their strategic policy and daily operations.
The Bulgarian Diversity Charter has launched several initiatives, i.e. Diversity at Work Award within the Annual Responsible Business Awards, Diversity at Work webinars, annual Membership certificate signing ceremony to encourage, promote, debate, exchange and disseminate diversity management policies and best practice.
Since 2021 the Charter and its signatories celebrate together the EU Diversity Month to promote diversity and inclusion as values in workplaces and in society at large.
For details: www.diverse-bg.eu
