Pakistan's lead agency for poverty reduction, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) has been awarded the Diversity & Inclusion Outstanding Achievement Award at the Global Diversity & Inclusion Benchmarks Conference held on Friday. Diversity Achievement awards were presented to those organizations which have taken the initiative to promote diversity and inclusion not only in their Organization, but also in the larger society through their work.

A rigorous process of evaluation was adopted by seasoned HR and business leaders to finalise the winners. Diversity and inclusion has emerged as a world-wide best practice. Diversity refers to the variety of differences and similarities such as gender, race/ethnicity, age, culture, religion, class/caste, language, education, nationality, disability, work style, work experience, job role and function of people who are necessary to propel an Organization to success. Inclusion refers to how diversity is leveraged to create a fair, equitable, healthy, and high- performing Organization or community, in which all individuals are respected, feel engaged and motivated, and whose contributions toward meeting organisational and societal goals are valued.

Expressing his views on winning the award, PPAF's General Manager HR said that the PPAF has a rich history of its inclusive HR practices. The basis of equitable development lies in the empowerment of individuals within communities who have no voice and individuals who are marginalised and vulnerable, such as women, minorities and the youth. In order to ensure that diversity does not result in deprivation, it is essential that we track diversity to ensure that our institutions and practices are inclusive.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017