Employers rewarded for diversity achievements

The winners of the 2007 Opportunity Now awards have been announced and include businesses and individuals across a range of sectors.

Taking place on April 24th, the winning firms were announced at the annual awards dinner and all the employers receiving awards were praised for demonstrating their "commitment to and innovation in creating workplaces where women can succeed".

Betsy Nelson, head of EMEA Corporate Banking at JPMorgan, was presented with the Champion Award for a "senior leader who has made a significant contribution to advancing, promoting and embedding a diversity culture within a workplace".

The Female FTSE 100 award went to both AstraZeneca and British Airway for the commitment the two companies have shown to female leaders and the high proportion of women on their boards.

Sponsored by Coutts and Co, the awards honoured the Lehman Brothers for its Encore programme with the Global Award, in recognition of its work helping women return to the labour market after having children.

Other awards included the city award, which went to KPMG for its flexible working practices, the private sector award for Britannia Building Society, the education sector award went to the University of Sheffield for its Women Academic Returners' Programme, and the public sector award was presented to Brent Council for its commitment to developing senior women.

Commenting on the award, Rachel Campbell, head of people management at KPMG, said: "Our own research and surveys show that the need to work flexible working patterns is becoming increasingly important, particularly to those with caring responsibilities, predominantly women. We aim to create a diverse and inclusive workplace by offering this flexibility to all our employees."

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Date:01/05/2007 10:37:55