The awards programmes that actually shift behaviour assess companies, not only individuals. A structure running more than twenty categories, evaluating entrants against both empowerment and performance, and including an award for men advancing gender parity, is designed to make participation a business decision rather than a recognition exercise.
Programmes built this way have run for well over a decade and generate large finalist pools, which is itself the point: broad participation rather than a small elite list.
Being assessed on empowerment and performance together is the useful bit
Awards judging only representation reward businesses that hire well and perform poorly. Awards judging only performance ignore the question entirely. Requiring both means a finalist is demonstrating that the two are compatible, which is the argument these programmes exist to make.
Company categories create an internal reason to act
When an award can be won by an organisation rather than a person, someone inside that organisation has a reason to gather the data, examine the gaps and present the case to leadership. That internal process frequently does more than the award itself, and it is available to any business willing to enter.
A large number of categories is a strategy, not clutter
More than two dozen categories across sectors, company sizes and roles means most serious entrants can find one they can genuinely compete in. For an entrant, the correct move is to find the narrowest category that fits rather than the most prestigious one.
Including an award for men is deliberate
Recognising men driving gender empowerment makes the agenda everyone’s rather than a separate track, which is generally how these things actually change inside a company. Small business owners should note the framing, because it is the one most likely to get support from a sceptical team.
Do the measurement whether or not you enter
Assembling the data these awards require, representation by level, pay comparison, promotion and retention rates by group, tells you things about your own business you will not otherwise see. The underlying employment equity obligations sit with the Department of Employment and Labour.
Frequently asked questions
Why assess empowerment and performance together?
Because judging either alone rewards the wrong thing, while requiring both demonstrates the two are compatible.
What is the value of company categories?
They give someone inside the organisation a reason to gather data, identify gaps and put a case to leadership, which often matters more than the award.
How should an entrant choose a category?
The narrowest one that genuinely fits, rather than the most prestigious, since that is where the odds are best.
Why include an award for men?
It makes gender parity a shared agenda rather than a separate track, which is how change usually happens inside a company.
Is there value in entering if you do not win?
Yes. Assembling representation, pay, promotion and retention data reveals things about your own business you would not otherwise see.
Further reading
Originally published in August 2017. Updated September 2026 to explain how these awards are structured and what entering produces, in place of a finalist announcement.
