Google, Accenture and Dublin Bus were all among the nominees for Employer of the Year at the eighth annual GALAS Awards.
Dublin City Council (DCC) has been awarded Employer of the Year at the 2017 GALAS awards, which took place on the night of 21 October.
DCC was recognised for recently implementing an LGBTQ inclusion policy, which comprises a three-pronged approach aiming to facilitate LGBTQ visibility, promote inclusion and provide education on LGBT-related issues within the council.
Dublin Bus, Google and Accenture were also nominated for the award, the latter of which was awarded Employer of the Year by GLEN last year in its annual LGBT Workplace Equality Index.
Michelle Cullen, a managing director at Accenture, was also nominated for LGBTQ Ally of the Year, which was ultimately presented to Cork City LGBT Interagency Group.
The awards, which are in their eighth year, were set up by GCN and the National LGBT Federation to honour LGBTQ people and organisations for their contributions to Irish society. They also recognise politicians, employers and others who are committed to advancing equality for LGBTQ people in Ireland.
The ceremony was hosted by RTÉ DJ Jenny Greene and presenter Stephen Byrne in The Mansion House, Dublin.
The GALAS International award, which presents a bursary of €2,000 to persons fighting for LGBTQ rights in countries that seriously discriminate against individuals, was given to Bouhdid Belhedi from Tunisia. Belhedi is the spokesperson for Tunisian advocacy group Shams, the first official organised LGBTQ rights group in the country.
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone, TD, took the stage twice to accept her own award for Political Figure of the Year as well as a Lifetime Achievement award, which was posthumously awarded to her late wife, Ann Louise Gilligan.
Both Gilligan and Zappone were instrumental in the Irish marriage equality campaign in 2015. They also founded a community-based project called An Cosán in 1986, which aims to transform the lives of marginalised individuals through education and citizenship.
