Diversity Is Not A Dirty Word

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DIVERSITY IS NOT A DIRTY WORD Omesh Jethwani, Government Projects & Programs Manager interviewed Lisa Annese, CEO Diversity Council Australia on the value of diversity and inclusion in workplaces.

Share with our readers what a typical day would be like for Lisa Annese?

I don’t think there is a typical day. We have about 430 members and we could be running

firms, Government departments, Universities and some not for profit.So it really is a very broad cross-section of the economy and crosses all industries.

events for them. I could be travelling and catching up with different members. One day we could be running training, and the next we’re doing media, so no day is typical. The work we do is really broad and varied but it

In 2016 the Diversity Council released a report entitled Building Inclusion: An Evidence-Based Model of Inclusive Leadership. What triggered that research

The more your organisation matches that diversity to a broader community, the more you are able to meet the needs of that community.

Of course that makes you a more desirable brand or organisation, but it also means that

report and can you share the findings?

We decided to focus on building an ‘inclusive leadership’ model because it is all good and well to have diversity within your workplace.

Most organisations have, to some degree, a significant amount of diversity even if they don't

you are more accurately able to respond to unique challenges faced by particular groups.A good example is a lot of our members who are in the construction industry do have very strong reconciliation action plans and have some type of indigenous employment program going.

involves looking after the 430 organisations that are members of the Diversity Council and supporting them to improve their capability.

Is the Diversity Council Australia a nonprofit organisation, and is the Council funded by the Government?

The Diversity Council Australia is a nonprofit organisation that is not funded by the Government. We are entirely funded by our members and are governed by a board of

know it. They may have people from various ethnic backgrounds, or people without visible disabilities, but who nonetheless identify that way or other forms of diversity.

directors. We are independent. We have 430 members, they pay our membership fee and in return we do research and run events and provide leading practice ideas for them. So it's important for us to be independent from the government. We have to criticise the

If you have people lumped together in different Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) groups, you cannot really get the most out of your diverse population. You actually need to create an inclusive working environment to be able to maximise the benefits of diversity. So our

they have a high degree of corporate social responsibility. The idea is that diversity and inclusion programs should always be win-win.

government occasionally as they can be a barrier to achieving success.

model that we developed is a five-step mindset model that our members can adapt to their own leadership model.

Indigenous community in the Building and Construction industry?

I think the first step is to gather knowledge.

There is a lot of organisations and resources that people can turn to.

As a CEO of Diversity Council Australia, is increasing Diversity and Inclusion a big part of your role or does the Council also represent in other areas?

We focus entirely on diversity and inclusion in Australian business but diversity inclusion is a broad church. It is about gender, culture, indigenous identity, LGBT identity, a diversity and disability.Everyone has facets to their personality that can be marked on their diversity identity scale and we support our members in all of those areas.

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multiculturalism, where women are 51 per cent of the population and where other diverse groups are represented significantly.

The idea is that this model will provide the

That really supports their business because they're often operating on traditional lands where they may need to make connection with community.But it also demonstrates that

What diversity and inclusion advice would you give to organisations working with the

behaviours, the traits and the attributes required by leaders to become inclusive in the way they practice their leadership. It is a very practical, hands-on model to support organisations from just being diverse to being diverse and inclusive.

What business benefits would organisations from the building and construction industry witness as a result of increasing Diversity and Inclusion?

Research what other organisations have done, get some ideas and get inspired. You can also start out simply by creating greater psychological safety in your workplace so that people feel comfortable identifying as mostly indigenous or Torres Strait Islander.

I would recommend that organisations look at the RAP programs of other organisations but also maybe contact some expert bodies

With regards to the organisations that Diversity Council provides services to, which industries do most of your members represent?

They come from all industries.Members of the Diversity Council represent many organisations

Well the research reveals that organisations receive many business benefits from increasing their diversity and inclusion. Primarily these are related to an increased engagement of existing employees. People feeling valued can bring their whole self to work, and we know

and we are one of those bodies that can be contracted to get more support.

listed in the ASX 200.They represent many multinational organisations especially now with the increase of technology firms that are starting to join the Diversity Council Australia.

that more engaged employees lead to more productive employees - therefore greater profits for our business.

They also enable organisations to more

or communities?

For some organisations, it is “how do we make our workplace more diverse” particularly in male dominated sectors where they may be concerned that their workplaces are ‘too

accurately reflect their clients and the market.

We live in a country where there is a significant

masculine’ or ‘too blokey’, and they may want to increase a diversity of gender there.

Diversity Council members also include Australia's large professional services, legal

What are some of the concerns organisations have raised with you about working with diverse populations

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flexibility within the workplace because we have significant mental health and wellbeing issues in our workplace’. Flexibility is shown to be a measurable way in which that particular issue can be managed in a workplace.

But I would say for the building and construction Industry, diversity issues around gender, around disability as in mental health and wellbeing and around Indigenous employment and cultural diversity are probably the most significant issues.

What is the most challenging situation dealing with diversity that you have faced?

Well the landscape of diversity and inclusion is always changing and it changes because society's expectations change, because laws may change or because there may be an issue within a workplace. When an organisation tends up on the front page of the newspapers with a serious sexual harassment complaint

case needs to be presented to them in a way that's meaningful. I would argue that it's in the interest of any employer or small business owner to have a workplace where there's no bullying, there's no harassment, there's no discrimination. If management don't buy into

we have an aging population is also an issue, and we may need to broaden our concept of what makes an appropriate employee in terms of age but also in terms of disability because the older the workplace becomes the more likely you are to have people who have chronic

the integrity around this, there is no doubt that it increases their legal risk.

health issues and chronic illnesses.So our idea of the ideal worker may also change in years to come.

In your opinion, which top three industries would be viewed as the leaders in diversity and inclusion?

Well again, diversity is a really broad area, so different industries are focussed on different issues. If you are looking at gender, certain sectors are doing quite well in that, but they might only be doing well in some areas of gender.

The banking and finance sector have been working on gender equity for a very long time and they've made a lot of headway in that.But that's only in terms of getting more women into

or investigation, then that becomes a crisis for that workplace. In workplaces where harassment and discrimination are allowed to fester, you generally find significant issues with the culture and a lot of initiative and work

leadership roles. If you look at their statistics on gender pay equity they're not very good.

needs to be done to try and make that culture more inclusive and less hostile.

these areas for a very long time. A lot of those multinational organisations especially ones that have come out of the US have had this more entrenched in their culture. And so they've had strong diversity programs for a long time.

In 2014, the Australian Human Right Commission launched a free online tool to help businesses enhance productivity through a culturally diverse workplace.

How would you respond to those who perceived it to be a form of tokenism and a tick of a box?

I know a lot about that particular tool because we did that with them. That was a joint initiative

by Diversity Council Australia and the Human Rights Commission.

likely to have greater employee engagement, reduced absenteeism and greater productivity, therefore greater profitability. You are also more likely to be able to respond to the changing needs of a market and to be flexible in the global economy.

You've got organisations like oil companies and gas companies who have been working in remote and traditional areas. They've had a really good incentive to do a lot of good work in Indigenous space and they've done that.

The tool was always intended to be used as a guide for employers to try and support them in understanding what the important issues are that they need to consider, and to provide some context around the situation in a way in which those issues might be relevant. So it's like anything, if you want to approach it as

2012 (Act)?

No, I don't think it's going to happen in the private sector. I mean at the end of this year Diversity Council Australia is going to be releasing a National Inclusion Index that our members will be able to opt in to.We will

a tick box thing then that's all it will be.If you want to approach it as a genuine tool, then it's very useful platform.

be able to demonstrate across six separate diversity dimensions the inclusion levels of the Australian Labour market and I think initiatives like that will help to create benchmarks for organisations to compare themselves to.

education and diversity initiatives with organisations that doesn't see its value?

Organisations have to be able to see the value of implementing change. So the business

the industry to change, especially the larger construction organisations. The main pressure obviously is to improve the statistics across the gender and mental health space. The idea that

Lisa Annese was appointed CEO of DCA in June 2014 where she heads a team to lead public debate, conduct proactive research and develop innovative resources for organisations in the area of diversity. She first joined DCA in 2009 and left for a short stint in 2011 as the first dedicated Diversity Manager at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, who later won the Lawyers Weekly Firm Diversity Award.

Prior to joining DCA, she worked at the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency where she developed the first ever census of ‘Australian Women in Leadership’, ‘Business Achievement Awards’, and ‘Employer of Choice for Women’ citation. Lisa was awarded a Medal for Significant Contribution to the Australian Public Service and co-authored “Chief Executives Unplugged: CEO’s Get Real About Women in the Workplace” which was named a “must-read business book” by AFR/BOSS magazine in 2005.

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How would you advocate for diversity

What do you think is the future of diversity and inclusion for the building and construction Industry that rarely embraces change?

There will be pressure on organisations in

are right. You can't get that from the tick box exercise. A tick box exercise can only provide some assistance and some ideas.

There is a belief that the commitment to diversity conflicts with a commitment to excellence. How would you describe the relationship between diversity and excellence?

Research shows that if you have a commitment to diversity inclusion you're more

So it’s very varied. But I will say the four big banks have come a long way in working in

Do you think there may come a time when organisations are required to report on Diversity and Inclusions, similar to the Workplace Gender Equality Act

Nothing can replace actual intent and commitment to diversity and inclusion.And you

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It could also be around ‘how do we increase

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