We know that culturally and racially marginalised (CARM) women in Australian workplaces are ambitious, capable, and resilient. Yet research has shown that they are faced with a range of entrenched systemic barriers that prevent them from reaching senior leadership.
Realise. Inspire. Support. Energise. (RISE) was a groundbreaking project in partnership with Settlement Services International and Chief Executive Women. It aimed to break down systemic barriers and provide direct pathways for CARM women to reach senior leadership positions within Australian organisations.
This report presents initial insights on the RISE Project, capturing what has been implemented, what has been learned and what is beginning to shift for those who participated.
Exploring insights within 5 key themes
This report attempts to capture how organisations engage with the process of eliminating gendered racism in practice, providing practical insights into what it takes to move from intent to implementation.
The report also identifies the unanticipated challenges and tensions that emerged during the project. By making these dynamics visible, the report offers a more realistic account of organisational change when it comes to addressing gendered racism.
Although not a comprehensive guide to addressing gendered racism or CARM women’s representation in leadership, this report outlines the approach taken by the RISE Project, and some of the insights and enablers that were found along the way.
The report shares these insights through five key themes:
- Designing for intersectionality
- Methodological insights
- Systemic barriers and enablers
- Designing for CARM women
- What works
Explore initial findings from the RISE Project, including progress on implementation, key learnings and emerging participant outcomes.
Ready to take action?
These resources can help organisations who wish to make long-lasting D&I change for CARM women in their workplaces.
Centring Marginalised Voices at Work
This framework provides practical guidelines on how organisations can centre the voices of people with lived experience of marginalisation in D&I change.
Culturally and Racially Marginalised Women in Leadership
This ground-breaking report re-examines the state of play for culturally and racially marginalised (CARM) women in leadership.
Applying Intersectionality at Work
How to apply an intersectionality lens to organisations’ D&I change work and ensure they address the experiences of people facing overlapping forms of discrimination.
Racism at Work
How businesses can stand up to racism at work with an evidence-based organisational framework for action to help Australian businesses effectively address racism.
RISE Project
RISE is a collaborative project between Diversity Council Australia (DCA), Settlement Services International (SSI) and Chief Executive Women (CEW) and is funded by the Australian government Office for Women through the Women’s Leadership and Development Program (WLDP) 2022-2026.
This report is © Copyright of DCA Ltd, Settlement Services International and Chief Executive Women, 2026.
Where you wish to refer to this report publicly, it must be correctly attributed to the three consortium partners.
Suggested citation: Diversity Council Australia, Settlement Services International and Chief Executive Women (S Tharumanathan, V Mapedzahama, A Perry, D Wu, J Nkrumah and S Rowley), The RISE Project: An Insights Report, DCA/SSI/CEW, Sydney, 2026.