The Drinks Association is thrilled to welcome Coles Liquor as a returning sponsor of the Inclusive & Diverse Workplace Award at the 2019 Australian Drinks Awards.
The Inclusive & Diverse Workplace Award celebrates organisations that prioritise diversity and recognise the value of an inclusive workplace for individuals and their organisations.
Coles Liquor Acting Executive Officer Cathi Scarce (above) presented the inaugural Inclusive & Diverse Workplace trophy at the 2018 Australian Drinks Awards to Lion for its LionFlex flexible work options initiative.
"We are very excited to be sponsoring the Diversity and Inclusion award again," Scarce said. "The quality of the entries last year showed how much great work there is being done cross the drinks industry and this award really brings those stories to life."
Additionally, Coles Liquor will sponsor the 2019 Gender Equity Award, which celebrates excellence in gender equity initiatives and programs in the workplace.
Diageo won the inaugural Gender Equity trophy for its intiatives around making inclusion key to its business.
Scarce added that she was looking forward to celebrating with the drinks industry and winners at the awards ceremony.
"It really gives us the chance to have even more great conversations about how we can continue to make the drinks industry a more inclusive environment whilst celebrating those who are leading the way," she noted.
Coles has made plenty of progress of its own in the D&I space over the last 12 months.
"Coles has remained committed to delivering its "Better Together" charter with all forms of D&I celebrated, including pride, gender balance, accessibility and our Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander plans. We continue to make great progress in all areas. In fact we are now the largest employer of Indigenous Australians at 4200 with plans to hire another 1300 by 2023."
The company also recently celebrated International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia 2019, with Coles Liquor staff (above) joining together to show they are allies and that everyone deserves to be their authentic self at work.
"It’s very important to me that we are representative of the communities we serve and that we bring diversity of thought into any decisions the business makes for the benefit of all of our customers," Scarce noted in the latest issue of Drinks Trade magazine.
"It’s also important to ensure that you lead by example. In Coles Liquor, 50% of our senior leadership team and 50% of our liquor state managers are women as an example.
"I’m also working with industry bodies to help promote diversity and inclusion more broadly, as a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Council for the Drinks Association and as a Board Member for Retail Drinks Association."
The Australian Drinks Awards will be held in Sydney, on August 22, 2019. Click here for ticket details.