On September 21, 2021, the Foundation for Responsible Leadership and Organizations (FLOR) celebrated its ninth anniversary with the announcement of the winning organizations of the sixth edition of the Diversity Awards. The NGO led by Andrea Grobocopatel recognizes through this initiative those organizations that work in an integral, equitable, and diverse manner, with good practices and values toward a more just and inclusive society.

“Being responsible is closely linked to diversity (…). For FLOR, responsibility in leadership and organizations means COMMITMENT: to the environment, to good governance practices, and to the people inside and outside of organizations (…)” stated Andrea during the ceremony. It is in this last point where diversity comes into play: “being responsible means that the more diverse people we are together, the more we will enrich one another.”

The ceremony was held virtually live and was hosted by host and FLOR collaborator Agustina Torchio Grobocopatel and writer Valeria Schapira.

The organizations were evaluated by an Honorary Jury composed of Ana Inés Alvarez (Executive Director of Fundación AVON), Carlos Magariños (Pro-Secretary of Fundación FLOR), Gala Diaz Langou (Executive Director of CIPPEC), Kurt Frieder (President of Fundación Huésped), Laura Gaidulewicz (Director of Binden Group), Sergio Kaufman (President of Accenture), and Teté Coustarot (journalist). This jury defined the finalists and winners for each category, as well as the special mentions for the LATAM category, where mentions are awarded as the highest recognition. Additionally, several organizations that did not make the finalist shortlists were recognized for specific standout

In the LATAM category, the highest recognition—a special mention—was awarded to Banco BHD León, for their gender policies and actions aimed at the empowerment of Dominican women, and to Fundación Paraguaya, for their work regarding inclusion and gender equity practices, as well as their policies to prevent workplace harassment.

In the PUBLIC SECTOR category, a special mention was awarded to Centro Verde Ecofem, while the finalist and winner positions remained vacant. This organization was recognized for its commitment to labor inclusion, being a space operated entirely by women—including trans women—from vulnerable sectors.

The three exemplary NGOs in diversity management were: Asociación Civil de Mujeres en Tecnología, Fundación Discar, and Fundación Visibilia. The latter received the FLOR Award for its work in including people with disabilities through its accessible reading editorial projects and creating a bridge to the labor market. Additionally, a special mention was awarded to Asociación Civil Cascos Verdes for integrating people with intellectual disabilities by providing them with a space to educate and support organizations on environmental issues.

In the SME category, the three organizations that presented the best inclusive practices were: Broker Andino, Grupo Advance, and Win&Winnow Language Services. The winner was Grupo Advance, recognized for its work in including individuals from various minorities as a priority in its business strategy. A special mention was also awarded to Socompa, an inclusive tourism company that faced the pandemic through diversity.

Finally, in the LARGE ENTERPRISE category, IBM Argentina, Johnson & Johnson Argentina, and Arca Continental (Salta Refrescos) were the three organizations that stood out the most in terms of diversity. Johnson & Johnson was chosen as the winner for its global and local commitment to diversity as a key factor for innovation and business purpose. Additionally, Syngenta Agro was recognized with a special mention for reviewing its seed multiplication process from a gender and employment perspective, hiring women for this task for the first time.

“The FLOR Awards are a recognition for those organizations that are examples of integration and diversity management,” stated Andrea Grobocopatel. “The issue of diversity is not a dispensable item on our to-do list (…). Society can address it while resolving all the issues it considers urgent, because diversity is always present: through a diversity of perspectives, we will achieve better solutions to our problems. (…) At the Foundation, we maintain that it is always a good time to BLOOM. To bloom good ideas, good news, and good examples. Let responsible leadership bloom, let responsible organizations bloom, and let society bloom so the world embraces us with energy, positivity, and generosity, so we can all care for one another. Let dialogue bloom, let different points of view enrich us and help us understand others, and let us value DIVERSITY because it makes us more creative and better people.”