The Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) is seeking nominations for its Excellence in Equality of Opportunity Awards.

The initiative promotes the equality of opportunity in the workplace and has been devised to applaud organisations that are working to ensure an equal and fair work environment in Bermuda.

A Government spokeswoman said this means that the recognised employer hires and promotes fairly, has a good representation of the people who comprise Bermuda?s population, adheres to the Code of Practice and makes outstanding efforts towards promoting equality of opportunity.

The awards will be presented at a special ceremony on Tuesday, October 11 featuring Tim Wise, author of the internationally acclaimed book ?White like me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son?.

He is also the director of the Association for White Anti-Racist Education (AWARE) in Nashville, Tennessee.

Members of the public are invited to nominate employers for awards in five categories:

For organisations that have racial representation that exceeds workforce norms and very much mirrors the racial demographics of Bermuda?s population.

For organisations that have undertaken outstanding initiatives in promoting equal opportunity in the workplace, as in offering scholarships and group-specific mentoring programmes.

For organisations that have embraced CURE?s Codes of Practice through all areas of their work environment.

For organisations that are nominated by their employees for practising equal opportunity by hiring and promoting fairly, training, mentoring and investing in Bermudians, and making outstanding efforts to promote the upward mobility of black Bermudians. The award is based on the submission of a completed employee questionnaire.

For organisations that demonstrate all of the above and are judged to excel in practising equality of opportunity.

The selection process involves inviting the community to make nominations, verifying that the nominee has acceptable levels of representation in its workforce, verifying that nominees? status as to Human Rights, employment and immigration violations and in the case of the ?Employee?s Choice? and ?Code of Practice? awards, receipt of the self-administered employee questionnaire.

Employees are asked to summarise any special initiatives they have undertaken to gain representation and to promote equality of opportunity.