NZ Diversity Consultant Named Top 10 Globally

NZ Diversity Consultant named Top 10 in first ever Global Diversity List

Diversity New Zealand Ltd's Managing Director has been named one of the Top 10 diversity consultants in the inaugural Global Diversity List. Philip Patston was recognised in the first ever assessment of the world’s leading authorities on diversity announced on Saturday 31 October 2015.

The Global Diversity List, a comprehensive guide to the individuals who are putting diversity at the heart of human resources within the world’s biggest organisations, is supported by The Economist and was launched at their offices in both London and New York.

"This is a huge honour and privilege," said Patston, who has been working on diversity issues in New Zealand for decades, including a period working for the New Zealand Human Rights Commission.

"My take on diversity is quite different to usual interpretations, so it's a humbling experience to have this recognised on the world stage," he said.

Patston has been recognised as a creative and social entrepreneur in New Zealand. He also spoke about his work at Auckland's TEDx event in 2012. His own career diversity has included being a counsellor, social worker and an award-winning professional comedian for over a decade.

His focus is now his consultancy, Diversity New Zealand Ltd, which produces high standard social entrepreneurship services and a regular social media presence promoting progressive approaches to all diversity issues.

It is the first time a global assessment of individuals and companies demonstrating a concrete commitment to diversity has been compiled and organisers, including Google’s former head of diversity and inclusion, Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe, say it will address the weakness in the evaluation of company performance in diversity.

It has already been welcomed by global corporate giants with many of them becoming founding partners. Companies including Standard Chartered, Barclays, KPMG, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, WorldPay, UBS and AT Kearney have joined this elite group.

The Global Diversity List, focuses on the top fifty professionals in industry, the world’s leading diversity consultants and provides a guide to the top ten employee networks based on women, LGBT, ethnicity and disability. A list of the top fifty diversity figures in public life was also published.

Nominated for by readers of The Economist, several thousand nominations were received from every corner of the planet. It was ratified by an independent panel of experts including Palmer-Edgecumbe, The Economist’s Michael Brunt and Toby Burton, Managing Director of the Global Diversity Awards, Linda Riley, President and CEO of GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis.

Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Diversity List said:

"The list marks a seminal moment for the diversity profession, by publicly recognising the world's most influential, innovative and creative diversity professionals in one comprehensive list for the first time. The list sets the benchmark of exceptional performance in the profession today and creates the role models for the diversity professionals of tomorrow".

The Global Diversity List's Top 10 diversity consultant category recognises the achievements of individuals who are making an impact in diversity through their work as management consultants.

ENDS

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