ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s lead agency for poverty reduction, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) has won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Global Diversity & Inclusion Benchmarks (GDIB) Conference 2017 held in Karachi. The diversity achievement awards were presented to organisations that have taken the initiative to promote diversity and inclusion not only in their organisations but also in the larger society through their work. A rigorous process of evaluation was adopted by seasoned HR and business leaders to finalise the winners. Diversity and inclusion has emerged as a worldwide best practice. Diversity refers to the variety of differences and similarities/dimensions among people, such as gender, race/ethnicity, tribal/indigenous origins, age, culture, generation, religion, class/caste, language, education, geography, nationality, disability, work style, work experience, job role and function, thinking style, and personality type. Inclusion refers to how diversity is leveraged to create a fair, equitable, healthy, and high performing organisation or community where all individuals are respected, feel engaged and motivated, and their contributions toward meeting organisational and societal goals are valued. Expressing his views on winning the award, the PPAF’s general manager (HR) said, “The PPAF has a rich history of its inclusive HR practices. The basis of equitable development lies in the empowerment of individuals within communities who have no voice and individuals who are marginalised and vulnerable, such as women, the differently abled, minorities and the youth. In order to ensure that diversity does not result in deprivation, it is essential that we track diversity to ensure that our institutions and practices are inclusive.” He added, “We have also undertaken measures that ensure equity, inclusion and women’s representation within the organisation. Gender has now become an established theme across all projects and programmes.” In 2016, the experts, guided by researchers Julie O’Mara and Alan Richter, produced the tenth anniversary edition of Global Diversity & Inclusion Benchmarks: Standards around the World. The GDIB 2016 supports all types and sizes of organisations in the development and implementation of ‘diversity and inclusion’ best practices. It is a comprehensive guide to explain what ‘creating inclusive systems’ and ‘managing diversity’ entails. It represents the best thinking and consensus agreement of global experts.