HM Revenue & Customs has been crowned Responsible Business for Gender Equality. Its triumph was announced at the Business in the Community (BITC) awards ceremony last Tuesday. Held at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the prestigious black-tie ceremony brought together hundreds of guests from across all professional sectors and from up and down the country. The host was Sir Lenny Henry CBE described by Amanda Mackenzie OBE, BITC’s CEO, as “a champion for the Windrush citizens, for justice for Stephen Lawrence and the funniest man in England.”
Sir Henry opened the evening with some sizzlers, perhaps uncomfortable for some, but his choice of words prompted laughter and applause at short intervals. In her address, Ms Mackenzie said: “We’re being asked to do more, the public trust us less, we want to help communities but the national stakeholders seem harder to engage than ever and even, dare I say, some politicians seem to have turned their back on business though clearly not the wonderful ones with us this evening.” MP Alok Sharma was on the guest list, but absent.
Ms Mackenzie pointed out that responsible business was about making the right choices and not about “covering up bad practice or just getting good PR”. Nor is it, she said, about “putting lipstick on a bulldog.” Lloyds Banking Group won Responsible Business of the Year award; Salary Finance won Responsible Small Business of the Year. Commenting on their award, Narmada de Silva, HMRC’s Deputy Director for Tax Strategy & Professionalism, donning a sari, paid tribute to the team (pictured) for their commitment and dedication to an important theme, gender equality.
To see full list of winners and for more information about BITC visit www.bitc.org.uk/RBAwards2018/TheWinners
