The awards were handed out by Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth Martin Gikov, and all entries were briefly presented during the high-profile ceremony, which convened over 250 guests from the executive, the business community, the civil sector, diplomats and media.

The Bulgarian Diversity Charter introduced the prestigious Diversity at Work Award in the Annual Responsible Business Awards three years ago to recognize best practice in creating diverse teams and inclusive working environments. As one of the founding members of the Diversity Charter in Bulgaria*, the BBLF thus seeks to promote corporate strategies and initiatives to foster diverse teams, equal opportunity and inclusion.

The winners were determined by an independent and unbiased jury of representatives from relevant institutions and members of the Charter Advisory Board.

Yettel Bulgaria won the gold with its comprehensive diversity and inclusion policy, part of the corporate sustainability strategy. By implementing a series of programmes and initiatives the company works to create an inclusive working environment so that everyone feels accepted and free to be themselves. The award was received by Denitsa Sotirova, HR Business Partner and owner of the Side by Side programme for people with different abilities.

IBM Bulgaria took the silver award with the RiseUp Women Leadership Accelerator, an academy programme that aims to develop the leadership skills of women at IBM. "Our programme was conceived in Bulgaria and is now being implemented on four continents," Violeta Karanacheva-Tsvetanova, University Relations, Diversity and Training Manager, said at the award ceremony.

The bronze prize went to Paysafe Bulgaria where a culture of diversity and inclusion is fostered among employees, partners and customers. Bozhena Pandeliyeva, Corporate Communications Manager, and Petya Voynova, Human Resources Manager received the award.

This year’s competition saw a remarkable growth of entries in the Diversity at Work category. A total of 15 entries, or 25% more than last year, vied for the prestigious recognition. They were submitted by 14 companies which included Bulgarian Diversity Charter signatories: Electrohold, IBM Bulgaria, ITX Bulgaria (Inditex) which submitted two DEI initiatives, Mondelez Bulgaria, Sensata Technologies Bulgaria, Zagorka. They were joined by DXC Technology, Kin + Carta, Paysafe Bulgaria, PRESTIGE-96, SoftServe, SumUp, Yettel Bulgaria, Kamenitsa.

For further details please visit https://diverse-bg.eu/yettel-ibm-and-paysafe-win-diversitywork-awards/

*Bulgarian Diversity Charter

A joint initiative of the Centre for the Study of Democracy and the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum aimed to promote diversity management in Bulgaria by developing, launching and implementing a national Diversity Charter.

The official launch of the Bulgarian Diversity Charter took place in September 2020, and Bulgaria was the 25th EU member state to join the EU Platform of Diversity Charters and benefit from the exchange of ideas, good practice and resources between the national charters.

Today, the Bulgarian Charter brings together over 70 signatories, mostly private companies but also NGOs covering their 6,000 employees. By signing the Charter, companies make a public commitment to recognize and embrace diversity, equal opportunities and social inclusion as part of their strategic policy and daily operations.

The Bulgarian Diversity Charter has launched several initiatives, i.e. Diversity at Work Award within the Annual Responsible Business Awards, Diversity at Work webinars, annual Membership certificate signing ceremony to encourage, promote, debate, exchange and disseminate diversity management policies and best practice.

Since 2021 the Charter and its signatories celebrate together the EU Diversity Month to promote diversity and inclusion as values in workplaces and in society at large.

For more information: www.diverse-bg.eu