The first Polish edition of NatWest LGBT+ Diamonds 2018 Polish Business Awards was held in mid-November. This distinction is awarded to individuals, employers and organizations committed to promoting the fair and equal treatment of every person regardless of his or her sexual orientation or identity.

Among the nominees in the Business LGBT+ Ambassador category was Wojciech Kozłowski, partner and co-head of the Litigation and Arbitration Practice at Dentons’ Warsaw office. As part of his pro bono work, Wojciech leads and supports court actions against hate speech, including cases where hate speech is motivated by homophobia.

Of note is the fact that Wojciech Kozłowski was the only lawyer from an international law firm in Poland to receive recognition as a nominee.

To date, Dentons received awards as an employer supporting the LGBT+ community within its structures. As one of only thirteen organizations worldwide, Dentons received the “Stonewall’s Top Global Employer 2018” distinction awarded to employers actively supporting diversity and combating homophobia. Dentons maintains and supports its internal Global LGBT+ Network thus teaming up individuals to enhance inclusion and build positive attitudes inside our organization. The Polish Branch of Dentons is also a signatory of the Diversity Charter (Karta Różnorodności).

Dentons, through its Global Diversity Committee, promotes and supports members of communities diverse in terms of sex, sexual orientation, racial and ethnic origin, religious beliefs, age, disability, social perspective and other aspects. We believe that our pro-equality approach represents an important element of our organizational culture and our success.

This year’s NatWest LGBT+ Diamonds 2018 Polish Business Awards, a project based on subscription to the ideals enshrined in the Diversity Charter and under the auspices of the Polish Ombudsman, featured seven categories. The statuettes went to the “Love Does Not Exclude” Association (Stowarzyszenie Miłość Nie Wyklucza), the “Rainbow Friday” initiative by Campaign Against Homophobia (Kampania Przeciwko Homofobii), to Remigiusz Ryziński, writer and philosopher, and Kuba Piwowar of Google.

We congratulate the winners and continue in our efforts to build a work environment where every individual is respected and valued.