Lehman Brothers wins special award for Disability Excellence at 2006 best Workplaces Awards
19th May 2006
Employers' Forum on Disability (EFD) and Lehman Brothers, the global investment bank, are delighted to announce that Lehman Brothers was honoured with a Special Award for Disability Excellence in the Best Workplaces UK 2006 survey, published in the Financial Times. Lehman Brothers also ranked in the Top 50 Best Workplaces in the UK for the second consecutive year, illustrating the firm's ongoing commitment to creating a best practice working environment for its staff.
The Disability Excellence award, supported by Employers' Forum on Disability, the UK's leading employers' organisation focused on disability, recognised the firm's outstanding efforts to promote diversity and raise awareness both internally and externally on issues relating to disability in the workplace.
Lehman Brothers' commitment to promoting best practice for employees with a disability was consolidated in March 2004 with the formation of a European Disability Working Forum which focuses on promoting change, raising awareness, building relationships with external bodies and increasing applications from disabled candidates. The initiatives and achievements led by the Forum have included:
- exceeding accessibility requirements in its European headquarters in London.
- developing a successful Summer Intern Program for disabled students.
- partnering with disability charities and websites to promote employment opportunities.
- a variety of initiatives to educate our partner disability organisations about the wealth of opportunities in the banking industry.
- front desk reception staff being trained in British Sign Language.
Presenting the award, Phil Friend, OBE, and founder of the UK's leading disability consultancy, Churchill, Minty & Friend, highlighted that Lehman Brothers had made significant progress in a sometimes challenging environment.
On the award, Jeremy Isaacs, chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers, Europe and Asia, commented: "We are committed to promoting diversity and raising awareness on issues relating to disability in the workplace. This award represents significant recognition of our efforts to sustain a best practice working environment for all employees and I am delighted that we are making a real difference."
Susan Scott-Parker, chief executive of Employers' Forum on Disability, added: "Lehman Brothers has shown extraordinary leadership and creativity in its convincing business case for challenging disability issues in the workplace. I am particularly impressed by how the company has moved the agenda forward significantly by engaging directly with people with disabilities. We look forward to partnering with Lehman Brothers as they continue to invest in becoming truly disability confident."
Ends
Notes to editors
- Lehman Brothers is an equal opportunity employer. The firm and its affiliates do not discriminate in employment because of race, religion or belief, gender, national or ethnic origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
- Lehman Brothers (ticker symbol: LEH), an innovator in global finance, serves the financial needs of corporations, governments and municipalities, institutional clients, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Founded in 1850, Lehman Brothers maintains leadership positions in equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, investment banking, private investment management, asset management and private equity. The Firm is headquartered in New York, with regional headquarters in London and Tokyo, and operates in a network of offices around the world. For further information about Lehman Brothers, visit the firm's website at http://www.lehman.com/.
Media enquiries, please contact:
Liz Nightingale, Communications Manager
Employers' Forum on Disability
Email: liz.nightingale@efd.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7403 3020
About Employers' Forum on Disability
Employers' Forum on Disability is the employers' organisation focused on disability as it affects employers and service providers. With over 400 members, EFD represents organisations that employ around 20 per cent of the UK workforce.Since its establishment in 1991, EFD has worked closely with government and other stakeholders, sharing best practice to make it easier to employ disabled people and serve disabled customers.