Employee Network Awards 2026: Close Brothers' Unity wins the myGwork-sponsored LGBTQIA Network award

The Employee Network Awards 2026 took place on Friday 25 September at the InterContinental London Park Lane, and myGwork was there as sponsor of the Outstanding LGBTQIA Network award. Here is who won, and why it matters.

Headline sponsored by Haleon and hosted by Dawn Butler MP, with a live set from Leee John of Imagination, the evening recognised the employee networks, leaders and organisations doing the day-to-day work of making UK workplaces fairer.

Kat Parsons, CEO of the Employee Network Awards, said: "Behind every employee network are people giving their time and energy to make workplaces better for others. These awards are our opportunity to say: we see you, and we celebrate the incredible work you do."

Opening the evening, Dawn Butler MP told the room: "Everyone in this room understands the power of employee networks. They do far more than start conversations. They turn ideas into action, challenge organisations to do better and create meaningful change in people's everyday working lives. Tonight is our opportunity to recognise that work and, most importantly, to say thank you."

Speaking for headline sponsor Haleon, Chief Human Resources Officer Lin De Decker said: "The very best networks are much more than communities – they are catalysts for change. They help people find confidence, find allies, find opportunities and sometimes even find the courage to use their voice. And as we celebrate tonight's nominees and winners, let's also remember that inclusion and belonging are never finished. There is no finish line."

Outstanding LGBTQIA Network 2026

The award myGwork sponsored went to Unity at Close Brothers, with LGBTQ+ at Sky highly commended. Both networks have done serious work over the past year, and we were glad to see them recognised in front of a room full of their peers.

There was further LGBTQ+ recognition on the night. A special Outstanding Leadership in Inclusion award went to Jon Tilli of Deutsche Bank for his leadership of dbPride and his wider commitment to championing employee networks and driving change across the bank.

Network of Networks

The final award of the evening, sponsored by HSBC Innovation Banking, puts every category winner head to head. It went to Ability@SGN, SGN's disability network.

Presenting the award alongside HSBC Innovation Banking's Kathy Lewis, Amanda Collier of The Traitors said: "Tonight's ultimate accolade brings together the very best of our winning networks – each exceptional, but one judged truly outstanding. What began as a safe space for colleagues has become a powerful force for change, bringing lived experience into senior leadership conversations and embedding disability inclusion across the organisation."

The other winners

The first award of the night, Best Network Initiative, went to Balfour Beatty's Right to Respect. Presenting it, Paulette Simpson CBE of The Voice said the winner was "making respectful behaviour as visible and expected as physical safety", transforming workplace culture for around 12,000 employees and supply-chain colleagues. Phil Whaite of A&O Shearman was named Network Inspirational Role Model for his work on disability inclusion and accessibility.

Moneybox's Black Employee Network won Outstanding Ethnicity Network, presented by Paramount's Kelly Bradshaw and Ash Bibi of The Traitors. Bibi described a network that, "through education, collaboration and opportunity", is "connecting employee communities, championing intersectionality and opening doors to technology careers for underrepresented young people."

BDO UK's Bridge won Outstanding Employee Network, Winston Taylor LLP's Family Matters won Outstanding Family Network, Holland and Barrett's Better Together Network won Outstanding New Network, Wellbeing@Entain won Outstanding Wellness Network and ScottishPower's Connected Women won Outstanding Women's Network.

On the individual side, Tony Fagelman of Xerox was named Outstanding Network Lead, Rebecca Short of Deutsche Bank won Outstanding Executive Sponsor and Georgie Willis of Eurostar received the Head of Belonging, Culture or Diversity award.

Why we sponsor this

LGBTQ+ employee networks are usually run by volunteers on top of their actual jobs. They are the people colleagues turn to when something goes wrong, the ones pushing for better policies, and often the reason a company's inclusion commitments mean anything in practice. A night like this is a small way of saying that work is noticed. Congratulations to Unity, to LGBTQ+ at Sky, to Jon Tilli, and to everyone recognised on the night.

As Kat Parsons put it: "The biggest inclusion challenges don't stop at organisational walls – and neither should the solutions. Real progress happens faster when we stop working in isolation."

Full list of winners and highly commended

Best Network Initiative 2026 (sponsored by The Voice)
Winner: Right to Respect, Balfour Beatty
Highly Commended: Women's Safety Committee, NatWest Group

Network Inspirational Role Model 2026 (sponsored by Centrica)
Winner: Phil Whaite, A&O Shearman
Highly Commended: Abi Harrison-Nye, giffgaff

Outstanding Ability Network 2026 (sponsored by EmployAbility)
Winner: Ability@SGN, SGN
Highly Commended: HAND, giffgaff

Outstanding Employee Network 2026 (sponsored by Ruebik)
Winner: Bridge, BDO UK
Highly Commended: Domestic Abuse Support Community, HSBC UK

Outstanding Family Network 2026
Winner: Family Matters, Winston Taylor LLP
Highly Commended: Working Parents & Carers Network, Skipton Building Society

Outstanding LGBTQIA Network 2026 (sponsored by myGwork)
Winner: Unity, Close Brothers
Highly Commended: LGBTQ+ at Sky, Sky

Outstanding Leadership in Inclusion
Winner: Jon Tilli, Deutsche Bank

Outstanding Ethnicity Network 2026 (sponsored by Paramount)
Winner: Black Employee Network (MBEN), Moneybox
Highly Commended: Springer Nature Black Employee Network (SN BEN), Springer Nature

Outstanding New Network 2026 (sponsored by giffgaff)
Winner: Better Together Network, Holland and Barrett
Highly Commended: ADAPT, Paramount

Outstanding Wellness Network 2026 (sponsored by DeNovo Legal Services)
Winner: Wellbeing@Entain, Entain
Highly Commended: Reproductive Health and Fertility Support Group, BAE Systems

Outstanding Women's Network 2026 (sponsored by Laing O'Rourke)
Winner: Connected Women, ScottishPower
Highly Commended: EmpowerHer, Calisen

Outstanding Network Lead 2026 (sponsored by Sedulo)
Winner: Tony Fagelman, Xerox
Highly Commended: Saurabh Bajpai, NatWest Group

Outstanding Executive Sponsor 2026
Winner: Rebecca Short, Deutsche Bank
Highly Commended: Samantha Sheriff, Allwyn UK

Head of Belonging, Culture or Diversity 2026 (sponsored by Haleon)
Winner: Georgie Willis, Eurostar
Highly Commended: Sim Sian, Mitie

Network of Networks 2026 (sponsored by HSBC Innovation Banking)
Winner: Ability@SGN, SGN

The Employee Network Awards are run by Diversity Umbrella. Find out more about their Global Inclusivity Membership at globalinclusivity.org and about the Network Collective at diversityumbrella.co.uk/the-network-collective.