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Transparency Award 2015
Information and Guidance 2015
The Transparency Award is a partnership between Opportunity Now and the
Government Equalities Office. It recognises organisations which are taking an
active role in evaluating gender equality in their workplaces, taking action, and
publicly reporting their progress.
This award is only open to companies that are supporting the Think, Act, Report
initiative. If your company is not yet registered to support it, you can register your
support here.
Think, Act, Report is a voluntary, business-led initiative to promote greater
transparency on gender employment issues and support the Government's
commitment to develop a fairer and more flexible labour market that draws on the
talents of all and builds a stronger economy.
Think, Act, Report provides a simple step-by-step framework to help companies think
about gender equality in their workforces on key issues such as recruitment,
retention, promotion and pay. The initiative is targeted at organisations in the private
sector which employ 150 staff or more (public sector organisations already have an
established duty to promote equality).
Read the Think, Act, Report framework report
The initiative encourages companies to share their progress in promoting gender
equality and the framework suggests data that could be made public. Companies will
be in different situations, and many will not be in a position to publish data on
everything, so it is up to individual firms to decide what information they publish.
Companies supporting the initiative range from those just starting to think about
gender equality issues to those with action plans and reporting mechanisms already
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in place. What they share is a common desire to be more transparent about
workforce issues and disseminate best practice.
Over 200 leading companies, including household names such as Marks and
Spencer, IBM, Friends Life, PwC, Tesco and Unilever are already involved. See a list
of the companies that have joined the scheme.
Transparency Award Entry Criteria
Entry to the Transparency Award is open to private sector organisations which are
supporting Think, Act, Report.
If your organisation would like to get involved you can sign up online.
Entry Structure and Content
There are two parts to the entry form.
Part 1 - asks you to signpost examples of the information/metrics which your
organisation currently makes available in the public domain against a number of
categories. These categories are aligned with the Think, Act, Report Framework.
The signpost may include hyperlink/s to content on your company website or you may
upload public reports/documents which include the information. If uploading
information please provide a corresponding document and page reference against the
relevant category. Assessors will be interested in where you make the information
available in the public domain and how accessible it is.
Please note that we are not expecting organisations to have examples in
extensive categories at this point in time. Please focus on what you are doing
rather than categories you are yet to have taken action in.
Part 2 - Comprises four questions which require a narrative response in order to
explore:
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Your organisation's motivations for putting gender equality information in the
public domain
Who decides what measures to report on and where, and how senior leaders
are involved in your public reporting strategy
How your organisation has benefited from public reporting
What plans your organisation has to publish information in the future
Word count for the narrative section is 1,000 words
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Unlike in previous years, there will be no additional assessment round for this award
– no presentations from/interview with short-listed companies. Instead, the panel will
assess your entry entirely on the basis of the information you provide in the entry
form.
Read case studies from last year's Transparency Award finalists:
Friends Life
Genesis Housing Association
Hogan Lovells
PwC
The Submission Schedule
The entry process is open from September 2014. Entries will not be accepted after
the deadline.
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14 Nov 2013
Nov - Jan 2015
Feb 2015
21 Apr 2015
- 1.00pm - Deadline for submissions
- Expert review of submissions
- Awards finalists notified
- Award winners announced Opportunity Now Awards
Dinner, London
Assessment
All accepted entries will be reviewed by a panel of experts against a scoring
framework of best practice criteria. This will take place November 2014 - January
2015.
A winner and two finalists will be selected based on the information that the entrant
has signposted that is reported in the public domain and against the responses that
have been provided to the narrative questions.
Results
Winners of the Opportunity Now Excellence in Practice Awards remain confidential
until their announcement at the Opportunity Now Awards Dinner which will take place
on Tuesday 21 April 2015 at the Hilton on Park Lane in London.
Booking details will be available on the Opportunity Now website in due course.
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Contact
If you have a query at any stage of your entry please don’t hesitate to contact
Louise Hall, Head of Events, Opportunity Now & Race for Opportunity
DD: 020 7566 8710, louise.hall@bitc.org.uk
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