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The FSA in Wales has received the first ever Gold+ FairPlay Employer Award from Wales’s leading gender equality charity, Chwarae Teg.

Achieving the new Gold+ Award, given by FairPlay Employer, the commercial arm of gender equality charity Chwarae Teg (Opens in a new window), is an exceptional accomplishment and recognises the FSA’s ongoing commitment to creating an inclusive workplace where all employees can flourish. The FairPlay Employer programme has been running for over five years and supported hundreds of businesses, but the FSA in Wales is the first to reach the Gold+ standard to date.  

The success signifies that the FSA in Wales is committed to ensuring gender equality and diversity in the workplace, alongside a clear dedication to staff engagement – which aims to ensure equality of outcomes and opportunities for all.  

The innovative FairPlay Employer programme (Opens in a new window) benchmarks organisations against others in their industry and region and identifies significant success factors and potential areas to improve. There then follows a path of guided support and improvement that includes a customised action plan and access to a variety of tools and events. 

In 2020 the FSA was the first employer in Wales to be awarded a Gold standard FairPlay Employer award, and the Agency in Wales outperformed the 2020 scoring to achieve the Gold+ standard. The largest areas of improvement included ‘learning and development’ and ‘recruitment and selection’.   

Nathan Barnhouse, Director of FSA in Wales, yesterday said:

"This is a huge achievement for the Agency in Wales, I’m really pleased to see our progress. We were the first organisation to be awarded the Gold standard FairPlay Employer award in 2020. We are now delighted to be the first organisation to achieve the Gold+ level award.  

“I’m delighted that the hard work of the entire team in Wales has been recognised and proud of the contribution that the team have made to achieve this award. We are passionate about ensuring an inclusive and supportive environment for everyone in the workplace."

Alison Dacey, HR Employer Consultant, FairPlay Employer, yesterday said:  

“This is a major achievement as our benchmarking process is extremely tough. To achieve a Gold+ Award the client needs to be of an extremely high standard and their staff must also believe in those standards and really live and breathe the culture across the business. 

“We are very proud of the FSA in Wales and also of FairPlay Employer and the support we offer organisations to help them make significant improvements which benefit everyone working for them and provide women with the opportunity to progress and achieve their full potential. 

“Forward thinking employers like the FSA in Wales want to ensure their organisations provide the right environment for everyone to thrive. Our FairPlay Employer service can make it happen by giving organisations and businesses a clear path to success.”  

Who are Chwarae Teg?  

Chwarae Teg (Opens in a new window), meaning fair play, is Wales’ leading gender equality charity. They ensure that women in Wales can access the workplace, develop their skills and build rewarding careers. 

The FairPlay Employer award recognises an organisation’s approach to diversity by reviewing and awarding their practices. They benchmark performance and work with organisations to improve their processes, people and change mindsets. Organisations are then awarded across four levels: bronze, silver, gold and platinum.