Our First Anniversary
Last night we were delighted to publicly celebrate the first year anniversary of the Rainbow Tick’s existence at the Sub Rosa cafe. With around 80 guests in attendance it was busy and enjoyable evening, with many Rainbow Tick alumni present along with new organisations that are just setting out on the process.
We were very lucky to have Jacinda Ardern MP as our first speaker and Barbara Chapman, the CEO of the ASB as our keynote speaker.
Jacinda Ardern MP, Michael Stevens, Barbara Chapman ASB CEO
The value of a rich and vibrant workforce that both reflects the world of contemporary New Zealand and enables people to be themselves while at work without fear of stigmatisation or feeling the need to hide who they truly are was made clear.
It was great to see Dr Jackie Blue, the EEO Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission and Jan Logie MP attend and offer their support to our work as well. One of the striking features of the Rainbow Tick programme has been the widespread acceptance of the value of our work across the political and social spectrum, New Zealand today increasingly has no time for bigotry and prejudice of any kind, and that is something to be applauded.
Jan Logie MP and Dr Jackie Blue of the Human Rights Commission
Our first year has seen some remarkable progress in terms of those organisations signed up, and the real acceptance of the value and need for the Rainbow Tick programme. We already number some of New Zealand’s leading companies and members of the NZ SX 50 among our successful clients and we aim to increase this over time.
Milestones
One of the key milestones we were able to announce last night was our move into providing services to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). New Zealand is largely an SME-based economy, and it is essential that we are able to work in this sphere where so many Kiwis are employed. Whether you’re a corporate giant or workplace of 7, there’s no reason you can’t be a truly welcoming and inclusive place for all.
It was gratifying to have our first people from our first SME site, Publicis Loyalty present last night.
What has also been striking about the programme is the way the private sector has seen the benefits of our work so clearly, leading the way in advance of the public sector.
The other milestone we were pleased to celebrate is the completion and publication of the world’s first official standard on LGBTI-inclusive workplaces, a piece of work we undertook with Standards New Zealand.
Standards and how one complies with them are not usually exciting things, but we are excited about this one. It is a world first, and it has the potential to be picked up by other organisations around the globe.
This will now be the reference point for any other work in this field, and it’s great that New Zealand has led the way in this piece of work. The committee that drafted the standard drew from a wide range of expertise, both from professional bodies and LGBTTI community organisations.
It has been a great first year of operation and we are very excited to see how the next twelve months play out.
Our mission statement is simple: That New Zealand will have the most welcoming and inclusive workplaces for Rainbow communities in the world. We think we are on the way.
Team Air NZ
Staff from Fletchers .
Team ASB
Happy Crowd
Staff from AUT
Kiwibank
Unitec Staff
Simpson Grierson Lawyers