The research draws on the findings of DCA’s Inclusion@Work Index 2021-2022 to explore the link between inclusion and mental health.
Inclusion
Beyond Diversity Towards Inclusion
Inclusion occurs when a diversity of people (e.g. of different ages, cultural backgrounds, genders) feel valued and respected, have access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute their perspectives and talents to improve their organisation.
Creating an inclusive workplace is fundamental to maximising diversity and creating successful organisations in today’s complex global environment. DCA has developed a number of resources to help improve inclusive practice and thus lift performance and wellbeing.
DCA Research
Inclusive AI at Work

DCA, in partnership with Monash University, is undertaking a series of ground-breaking studies exploring the impact of unconscious bias on recruitment and selection decisions that are based on the use of artificial intelligence.
Inclusion@Work Index 2021-2022

The 2021-2022 Inclusion@Work Index maps the state of inclusion in Australian organisations and provides the Australian business case for inclusion.
Inclusion@Work Index: Mapping the State of Flex in the Australian Workforce

A special edition report of DCA’s Inclusion@Work Index 2021-2022 titled Mapping the State of Flex in the Australian Workforce highlights a positive link between flexible work and workplace inclusion and shows that the stigma around care, gender and flexible work continues.
D&I 101 - Collecting Diversity Data

DCA's Guide to Conducting a Diversity Survey - How to ask your employees about their diversity.
Gari Yala (Speak the Truth): Centreing the experiences of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians at work

New research from the Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research and Diversity Council Australia is speaking truth to Australian employers about the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff.
Class at Work

New research from Diversity Council Australia (DCA), has found strong evidence that people from self-identified lower classes experience more exclusion, discrimination and harassment at work than people from higher classes.
Intersections at Work

Pride in Diversity and DCA joined forces on this project as their respective research on LGBTQ workplace inclusion had revealed that culturally diverse LGBTQ workers had unique workplace experiences that warranted deeper investigation.
In 2020, Do We Still Really Need Workplace Gender Equality?

It’s been over 100 years since the first IWD and we’ve come a long way in creating gender equality – but we still have a long way to go. In 2020, gender inequalities continue to limit the ability of both men and women to be respected and to contribute at work and at home.
Inclusion@Work Index 2019-2020

How inclusive are Australian workplaces for a diversity of employees, and how has this changed over time? What impact does inclusion have on performance and wellbeing? The 2019-2020 Inclusion@Work Index surveyed a nationally representative sample of 3,000 Australian workers to find out.
Creating inclusive multi-faith workplaces

This resource provides guidance to Australian workplaces about how to deal with a range of common faith-related queries, and also to provide workplaces with principles to help balance issues where conflicting rights might intersect.
Change At Work

For well over thirty years, initiatives designed to improve diversity and inclusion (D&I) have been a priority for organisations – but are the plethora of D&I initiatives actually creating the organisational change they aspire to?
Inclusion@Work Index 2017-2018

The DCA-Suncorp Inclusion@Work Index 2017-2018 is a landmark study, providing the first-ever national benchmarks for Australian workplaces in regards to the age, cultural background, disability status, gender, Indigenous background, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity of workers.
WordsAtWork - Building inclusion through the power of language

DCA has developed a new Words At Work campaign for workplaces to show how inclusive language can improve workplace culture and drive productivity.
Building Inclusion - An Evidence-Based Model of Inclusive Leadership

DCA’s new study, Building Inclusion: An Evidence-Based Model of Inclusive Leadership sheds valuable light on the need for inclusive leadership and what it takes build more inclusive leaders.
Benchmarking Diversity and Inclusion Practices in Australia

Despite the well-known business benefits of D&I, many Australian organisations do not adequately resource their D&I function or put in place measureable goals or accountabilities for their D&I activities.
The Diversity & Inclusion Study
The study surveyed more than 100 diversity managers and human resources leaders in Australia and New Zealand to learn the profile of diversity functions within organisations and the professionals leading and implementing diversity strategy.
Other Research
Making the most of the skills and experience of migrants and refugees
This report explores the economic and social imperative for better utilisation of skills and experience of migrants and refugees in Queensland, what is getting in our way, and how we might move forward to reap the benefits.
Birthplaces, languages, ancestries and religions of Australian CEOs
Why do men born in the USA, UK or Canada have a greater chance of becoming an Australian CEO than those who are locally born?
Algorithmic Bias? An Empirical Study into Apparent Gender-Based Discrimination in the Display of STEM Career Ads

Despite explicit intentions to be gender neutral, a Facebook ad for STEM careers was shown more often to men than women, potentially due to economic forces and competition among advertisers
Mckinsey (2017) Delivering through diversity

This report from McKinsey research reinforces the link between diversity and company financial performance—and suggests how organizations can craft better inclusion strategies for a competitive edge.
Cloverpop: Hacking Diversity with Inclusive Decision Making (2017)

Teams outperform individual decision makers 66% of the time, and decision making improves as team diversity increases.
Case Studies
Case Study - Making D&I more structured and scalable at Real Asset Management Group

By participating in DCA’s Inclusive Employer Index, RAM was able to make D&I more structured and scalable. Read more.
Herbert Smith Freehills taking action to improve ethnic diversity across the firm

In the wake of the tragic killing of George Floyd in May 2020, Herbert Smith Freehills’ CEO and the broader leadership team began a deeper conversation with their people about improving ethnic diversity across the firm.
CommBank’s AdvantAge
CommBank’s age and life stage employee network – called AdvantAge.
NAB’s African Australian Employment Program
NAB’s African Australian Inclusion Program provides six months of work experience, to help people find meaningful employment.
News
New Australian research shows businesses how to address racism at work
In response to the global push for racial justice in 2020, Diversity Council Australia studied the barriers facilitating racism in Australian workplaces and key anti-racism actions to address racism at work effectively.
Diversity and inclusion skills needed to optimise artificial intelligence in recruitment
Monash University and Diversity Council Australia, with Hudson RPO, are undertaking a series of ground-breaking studies exploring the impact of unconscious bias on recruitment and selection decisions that use artificial intelligence.
Proposed religious discrimination law would challenge employer progress on workplace inclusion and erode culture
Diversity Council Australia backs protections for individuals from discrimination and harassment for their religious beliefs or no beliefs but said the Religious Discrimination Bill 2021 goes too far in its current form.
Perspectives
Election 2022: Where do the major parties stand on D&I
Each Federal Election, Diversity Council Australia writes to both major parties to ask them to respond to a series of questions, based on DCA’s research, about where they stand on key issues of diversity and inclusion affecting Australian workplaces.
Who is DCA's 1000th member ...?

DCA recently welcomed their newest member. Meet them here ...
Coming events
After a two year break due to COVID, we are looking forward to bringing you this special in-person event in Melbourne that honours the contribution of the late Anna McPhee, DCA’s former Chair and a passionate advocate for diversity and equal opportunity.
We will explore truth telling in the workplace, by exploring the research findings from DCA’s and Jumbunna Institute’s Gari Yala (Speak the Truth) report and drawing on the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's experiences of harassment and/or discrimination at work.
She’s Price(d)less is the fourth in a series of reports that uses econometric modelling applied to data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey to unpack the factors that contribute to the gender pay gap. (Event date subject to change).
DCA works in partnership with members to generate ground breaking diversity research that enables Australian organisations to fully leverage the benefits of a diverse talent pool. Only DCA members can access the research reports in full. Summary information only is available to the general public. DCA research is ahead of the curve, drives business improvement, is practice focused, speaks to the Australian context and considers all diversity dimensions.
At this event, we will deep dive on a D&I leading practice case study.
DCA works in partnership with members to generate ground breaking diversity research that enables Australian organisations to fully leverage the benefits of a diverse talent pool. Only DCA members can access the research reports in full. Summary information only is available to the general public. DCA research is ahead of the curve, drives business improvement, is practice focused, speaks to the Australian context and considers all diversity dimensions.
At this event, we will hear about the latest Closing the Gap report, drilling down on progress to increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in work.
At this event, we will discover how to improve managers' understanding of common mental health issues in the workplace and build their skills to support staff experiencing a mental health condition.
DCA has joined forces with JobsBank to launch inclusive recruitment guidelines that identify evidence-based actions employers can take to effectively diversify who and how they hire.
At this event, we will deep dive on a D&I leading practice case study
Are Australian businesses learning the lessons from COVID-19 and doing more to build accessible and inclusive workplaces for people with disability?
Following the International Day of People with Disability, this event will look at the inclusion experiences of people with disability, and what more can be done to build inclusive workplaces as well as attract, retain and progress employees with disability.
Webcasts from past events
Organisations play an important role in supporting and creating cultural safety and belonging in the workplace for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Monash University & Diversity Council Australia, with Hudson RPO, have joined forces to explore the impact of unconscious bias on recruitment and selection decisions that use artificial intelligence.