Diversity Works New Zealand CEO, Bev Cassidy-Mackenzie, has been named as one of the world’s Top 50 Diversity Professionals in the 2017 Global Diversity List.
The list is managed by the Global Diversity Company, founders of the European Diversity Awards, and the Diversity Professionals category recognises the achievements of individuals who have made the practice of diversity and inclusion their career.
Cassidy-Mackenzie, the only New Zealand inclusion in this category, was named alongside Amir Kabel, the global director of diversity and WLI, Adidas Group, Brian Tippens, chief diversity officer, Hewlett-Packard (Global), Mark McLane, head of global diversity and inclusion, Barclays Bank (Global), Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever (Global), and Ambassador Ruth Davis, the 24th Director General of the United States Foreign Service (USA).
“It’s a real honour to be included in this list and I’m delighted to see the work our team has done to advance diversity and inclusion in workplaces receive global recognition,” Cassidy-Mackenzie says in a media release.
Cassidy-Mackenzie has headed up Diversity Works New Zealand (formerly the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust) for the past five years. Under her leadership, the organisation advises Government and the private sector on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, delivers training and educational initiatives, and runs the highly successful Diversity Awards NZ, celebrating organisations championing an inclusive workplace culture.
She launched the New Zealand Diversity Survey, bi-annual research that provides a deeper understanding of the diversity issues that really matter to New Zealand businesses, and brought to New Zealand an internationally researched Diversity Diagnostic tool that allows organisations to benchmark themselves against best-practice indicators.
Diversity Works New Zealand board chair Michael Barnett says this is a well-deserved recognition. “Bev has worked tirelessly to help organisations of all sizes across all sectors throughout the country maximise the business benefits of an inclusive workplace culture during her tenure with Diversity Works NZ.”
The Global Diversity List, first published in 2015, was set up to create the definitive global diversity standard. The organisation’s website states its researchers work hard to ensure that the lists represent the gold standard of equality, diversity and inclusion, and as such can be considered a well-earned accreditation.
