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.
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
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
NAB’s Accessibility Action Plan (2017-2018)
The 2017 – 2018 AAP lays out NAB’s commitments to its customers, people and community, and was created in consultation with community groups such as the Australian Network on Disability.
NAB's Emerging Indigenous Executive Leaders Program
NAB has led the development of the EIELP, a program that has shown Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander employees that their Indigenous culture has many things to offer the boardroom.
News
DCA launches a new online destination for workplace diversity and inclusion
Media releases
19 Feb 2020
Diversity Council Australia is excited to be launching Australia’s first online platform collaborating with a variety of service providers in the diversity and inclusion (D&I) space.
Proposed religious discrimination bills still need more work
Media releases
31 Jan 2020
DCA has today outlined its concerns that the second draft of the Australian Government’s religious discrimination bills could stop Australian businesses fostering inclusive cultures and will be difficult for workplaces to manage.
DCA's response to Herald Sun article on Christmas
Media releases
19 Dec 2019
Diversity Council Australia is disappointed with the inaccurate headline and article that has appeared in the Herald Sun and other papers today. At no stage has DCA ever urged bosses not to mention Christmas.
Perspectives
Submission: Religious Discrimination Legislation - Second Exposure Draft 2020
Submissions
29 Jan 2020
DCA strongly supports individuals being protected from discrimination and harassment because of their religious belief and we proactively support our members in creating workplaces where religious belief is afforded the same dignity and respect as other attributes of a person’s identity.
DCA submission on the Census
Submissions
08 Jan 2020
DCA submission urges that questions about sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status be asked in the 2021 Census
In good faith
Podcasts
09 Dec 2019
As debates about religious expression continue, what’s it like to be a person of faith in modern Australia? We ask lawyer Daniel Wakim and DCA’s own Mariam Veiszadeh in our podcast.
Coming events
Hosted by Gilbert + Tobin
05 Mar 2020
This Diversity Leadership Program event explores the future of accessibility at work.
Hosted by Aurecon Australasia Pty Ltd
02 Apr 2020
DCA is delighted to offer our Perth based organisations the opportunity to participate in our Cracking Glass Cultural Ceiling Knowledge Workshop. Designed to assist culturally diverse female talent and organisations who feel “locked out” of leadership to develop the Keys to “unlock” leadership positions they are seeking.
Webcasts from past events
Sponsored by Suncorp
05 Dec 2019
What are the experiences of Australian workers when it comes to inclusion? DCA launched the second Inclusion at Work Index which maps and tracks inclusion in Australian workplaces.
29 Oct 2019
Is backlash good for diversity and inclusion? This is the question moderator Tony Jones posed at this year's DCA & MLC LIfe Insurance Annual Diversity Debate.