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BBA 2021 Nominees: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Written by BCCJ
October 26, 2021
British Business Awards

By the conclusion of the British Business Awards 2021 (#BBA2021) nomination period, we had received 38 eligible nominations across 6 categories.

The following 7 companies are now in the running to lift the BBA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion trophy.

“Open to any eligible company that has driven exceptionally effective Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, services or solutions in Japan over the past 12 months. Nominees should not be NPOs.”

BBA 2021 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Nominees

(In alphabetical order)

BARCLAYS

We believe every one of our employees, clients and stakeholders brings a set of unique talents and perspectives to the table. This nomination is a testament to the inclusive culture Barclays is fostering with our Race at Work agenda in Citizenship, aimed to attract, develop and increase representation of different races and ethnic minorities across Barclays.

The British Council

The British Council is promoting the inclusion of disabled people in the arts and culture sector through UK-Japan collaborations that increase disability awareness, knowledge of barriers to access and improving accessibility, creating opportunities for participation, delivering training for practitioners, and showcasing high-quality work by disabled artists.

Catherine O’Connell Law

The LAWYER ON AIR Podcast is the top legal podcast in Japan hosted by Japan’s first lawyer podcaster, Catherine O’Connell, who unlocks the black box of diverse lives of Japanese and foreign women lawyers, providing leadership insights & career tips for NextGen lawyers and building a unique women lawyer community.

Custom Media KK

Custom Media this year featured more Diversity, Equity & Inclusion than ever before in BCCJ Acumen and by any other English-language publication in Japan. Editorial includes the first female UK ambassador to Japan, Paralympians, LGBT and Black History Month. With seven nationalities, Custom Media helps change business, government and charity.

Guardian

The reason for this nomination is for the recent development of the Guardian app, designed to reveal child abuse, bullying and mental health issues, within Japanese students, both at school and at home. Founder Caitlin Puzzar is a British national based in Kumamoto, Japan.

Post-BBA Update: Read more on Caitlin’s inspiration behind the app and its journey so far, here.

Price Global

Companies struggled to cultivate inclusion in ever-changing conditions. Workshops were cancelled due to on-line fatigue. Inclusion initiatives had to be not only transformational, but wow participants with a unique approach. Price Global innovated our highly engaging, Inclusion Theatre into equally transformative and interactive virtual experiences.

Unilever

To recognise Unilever for its leading initiatives on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion – such as gender and nationality balance in management, the inclusion and support for LGBTQ+ persons in the workplace, and combating stereotypes and social norms – all created with a view to changing and creating a more inclusive society in Japan.

Judging

The decision on a winning BBA 2021 entry is the result of the combined score of 6 separate judges, who independently score assigned submissions using the same scoring matrix.

To ensure transparency, each judge independently returns his or her score sheet to the BCCJ office by 3 November 2021 and the results are tabulated confidentially. The scores from each judge are then totalled for each nominee, and the nomination with the highest accumulative score is declared the category winner.

In the event of two nominees receiving the same final score, all judges will be asked to review their scores for these companies/individuals, and the submission with the highest score from this second round of judging will be declared the winner.

The final results remain confidential until the BBA ceremony – held on the evening of November 5, 2021 online. To book your space at the Awards, please register via the bookings page HERE

Judges

We are delighted to reveal the names of our BBA 2021 judges – a truly great lineup of accomplished leaders who are actively engaged in bolstering UK-Japan relations! This esteemed panel of judges will put into practice their expertise and specialist experience to decide which companies and individuals should receive a prestigious BBA trophy.

Noel Thatcher MBE | British Paralympian
Carolyn Davidson | British Consul-General, Osaka
Miwa Seki, Kathy Matsui, Yumiko Murakami | MPower Partners
Hideo Tomita | Managing Director, Refinitiv Japan K.K.
Liza Aono | Presenter, Cool Japan TV
Adrian Gillespie | Chief Executive, Scottish Enterprise