ABOUT THE AWARDS

ABOUT THE AWARDS

The Ethnicity Awards celebrates individuals and organisations that support Black, Asian and diverse Ethnic communities. We recognise those who work tirelessly –within the public eye, in politics and in the workplace – to make a positive impact on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Since the Ethnicity Awards began in 2018, the number of people from ethnic minority backgrounds in prominent public positions has more than doubled from 36 to 73, according to data collated by Operation Black Vote. While the discourse around racial equality in the workplace has increased, these figures show that there is still much work to be done.

Our Investing in Ethnicity membership programme has grown significantly, with many organisations investing in the support of their ethnic minority colleagues. Similarly, support and attendance of the Ethnicity Awards is testament to the inspiring commitment for change that we see from the companies we work with.

All our winners have made fantastic strides towards progress in these areas. In 2021, we have recorded over 50,000 votes across all categories, showing that more than ever that our community wishes to celebrate the work done by our nominees to progress the ethnicity agenda.

We want to extend a huge thank you to our Founding Partner, HSBC UK, who have worked with us every step of the way. We’d also like to thank our sponsors, who continually highlight and celebrate diversity through their work. We hope our nominees and winners inspire and motivate everyone to progress the cause even further.

Credible process

The judging process for corporate categories, apart from Inclusive Employer, means that winners are independently chosen by an expert panel, without any input from the organisers. The winners are decided through a structured judging process, and the decisions made at the judges meeting are final. The Inclusive Employer Top 10s and winners are chosen based on their completion of and scoring on the Investing In Ethnicity Maturity Matrix.  The winners are announced at the annual ceremony, which is held in October.

The public categories are voted on by the general public and last year we recorded approximately 37,000 unique voters. The winners are then selected by the highest number of votes, and based on the winner being able to accept the award, either through video or in person.

 

Our reach

The Top 10 shortlist is usually released in June, and gives more recognition to everyone for the work they do. We have received international press, including BBC, Metro, Billboard, Evening Standard, and live broadcast appearances through Sky, BBC, ITV and London Live.

The Ethnicity Awards is owned and run by SPM Group Ltd. Please do not accept any correspondence, claims or documentation about the Ethnicity Awards from any third parties.