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Inclusive steps forward in Australian organisations

Taking stock of progress can be energising. It helps us see the ways in which recruitment and promotion processes and practices have become fairer and more objective. It helps us recognise tangible actions that have helped expand the pool of talented candidates for jobs and provided opportunities for under-represented groups.

The Australian Open in Melbourne has just smashed a crowd attendance record. This was a tennis tournament designed with diversity and inclusion at its core to reach new audiences and welcome visitors from diverse backgrounds.

The event was fully accessible for wheelchairs, staff wore sunflower lanyards to support people with hidden disabilities, and hearing loops and live captions on screen were available. There were sensory rooms, all gender bathrooms, events celebrating First Nations Culture and LGBTIQ+ inclusion, and sign language interpreters at the music concert, all building on Tennis Australia’s ‘Tennis for Every Body’ campaign theme launched last year by comedian Adam Hills.

This is a good example of what can be achieved when diversity and inclusion are prioritised in people and commercial strategies. Many other sporting codes in Australia are following suit with a new level of intensity as they strive to reach new audiences and attract a new generation of participants.

Of course it’s not just sporting organisations reaping the benefits of this focus. Many organisations have prioritised diversity and inclusion efforts over the past decade in response to Australian and global studies showing significant benefits for employees, businesses and customers.

Taking stock of this progress can be energising. It helps us see the ways in which recruitment and promotion processes and practices have become fairer and more objective. It helps us recognise tangible actions that have helped expand the pool of talented candidates for jobs and provided opportunities for under-represented groups.

And, like what we’ve seen from Tennis Australia this past fortnight, it shows how organisations are reaching new markets by providing more inclusive experiences for customers from diverse backgrounds.

Here we take a look at some of these shifts and steps forward in Australian workplaces.

From business margins to mainstream

In 2009, when I was head of diversity and culture at NAB, gender diversity was the primary focus of diversity strategies in large organisations. Reconciliation Action plans were emerging, employment opportunities for people with disability was an increasing focus of government and corporates, and flexible work arrangements were gaining momentum.

Fast forward to today and diversity and inclusion strategies in leading organisations have a more nuanced and integrated focus on ways to support under-represented and marginalised groups (and the intersections within) through an umbrella focus on inclusion, belonging and wellbeing.

In many large organisations, learning curriculums now prioritise education for leaders and team members to build their capability to lead, and actively contribute to, diverse and inclusive team cultures and customer experiences.

Many Australian business leaders in large ASX firms have moved through the corporate ranks over the past decade learning about the impact of unconscious bias on decision-making. That’s helped build a greater appreciation of how problematic the concept of a ‘meritocracy’ can be.

Many Australian business leaders in large ASX firms moved through the corporate ranks over the past decade learning about the impact of unconscious bias on decision-making. That’s helped build a greater appreciation of how problematic the concept of a ‘meritocracy’ can be.

 

Fifteen years ago, consideration of diversity and inclusion in broader marketing was nascent. When, in 2014, ANZ commissioned artists to transform 10 ATMs to GAYTMs as part of its sponsorship of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the highly successful campaign paved the way for organisations to creatively demonstrate support for diversity and inclusion.

Now we see (and work with) all sorts of organisations – department stores, toy manufacturers, fashion retailers, sporting clubs, cultural institutions – where diversity and inclusion are integral in design, product development, marketing and social media.

These actions not only help reach new markets but reflect research showing customers from diverse backgrounds are more likely to avoid an organisation when it has a negative reputation on diversity.

According to the Diversity Council of Australia’s latest Inclusion@Work Index, three out of four employees support or strongly support their organisation taking action to create a workplace that is diverse and inclusive.

Moreover, inclusive leadership is now considered one of the most important capabilities for leading an increasingly diverse, multigenerational workforce of the future. Business leaders who can navigate differences while finding common ground through shared values and purpose are in high demand.

Increasing workforce diversity

Australian workplaces are more gender diverse, especially at leadership levels. In 2010, women represented eight per cent of board positions of ASX 200 firms. Today, that figure is 37 per cent.

Women held a third of management positions in 2009. Now that’s 44 per cent. Some of Australia’s traditionally male-dominated industries – like our rail and mining sectors – have seen a big lift in the proportion of women.

Data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows Australia’s gender pay gap, while persistent, has declined, and last year was the lowest since reporting started in 2014.

More men have taken parental leave over the past decade as businesses have offered more equitable parental leave entitlements. Last year, men accounted for 17 per cent of all primary carer leave taken.

In 2009, the concept of a remote workplace was a novelty. Now, 84 per cent of organisations reporting to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency offer flexible work options.

Hybrid and remote working arrangements have significantly expanded the pool of potential employees, including women, people with a disability, and carers.

More broadly, research from the Diversity Council of Australia’s Inclusion@Work Index shows the percentage of employees reporting their organisation is inclusive has increased in recent years.

While it’s important to recognise positive steps have been made, we must also acknowledge that progress across other diversity attributes is uneven and slow. Inequalities, microaggressions and discrimination continue to be experienced by too many Australians at work.

Maintaining energy and focus on diversity and inclusion efforts can be challenging, particularly at this juncture in world politics.

But we can draw strength from what’s been achieved to continue to build better workplace cultures and customer experiences – for ‘Every Body’ as Adam Hills would remind us.

About Dr Katie Spearritt

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