NZ Police is proud and honoured to be the winner of the Diversity Works NZ 2016’s Empowerment Award, and the overall Supreme Award, in recognition of our innovative responses to improving gender balance in the workforce.
The awards were announced at the awards function, organised by Diversity Works NZ, last night.
Police’s entry in the awards showcased the work we are doing around the recruitment, retention and progression of women in Police, and the results we are starting to see from the initiatives put in place.
“Police’s vision is to have the trust and confidence of all,” says Police Commissioner Mike Bush.
“A key part of us delivering on that vision is having a workforce that is representative of the all the communities we serve.”
“The Police Executive has recognised that Police faces a significant challenge in improving the gender diversity of our staff, and we have made this work a priority.
"It's fantastic for our staff to have this work now recognised.
"One of our new Police values is 'valuing diversity' and this applies internally to our staff as well as externally walking the talk in our communities.
“A range of initiatives, which aim to improve the appeal of Police as a career option and provide a more positive work environment for women, such as a new recruitment campaign and TV reality programmes showcasing police women at work, are beginning to pay dividends and show strong benefits for Police as an organisation.“
In 2015, women made up 35.9 per cent of graduates from the Royal New Zealand Police College – up from 24.2 per cent in 2012.
Our internal work to better support women through organised networks is also going well. There has been a 41 per cent increase in women promoted to the rank of Senior Sergeant between 2014 and April 2016 (from 44 to 61); a 36 per cent increase in those promoted to Inspector (from 26 to 36); and a 250 per cent increase in those promoted to Superintendent (from two to seven) in the same period.
“I’m enormously encouraged by these numbers, but I also recognise that we still have a way to go,” says Mr Bush.
“So while it is extremely pleasing to see our work to date being recognised by the Diversity Works NZ awards – particularly as Police celebrate 75 years of women in policing this year – we still have a lot of work ahead of us."
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre