Overcoming the one-size fits all approach to diversity

We had a chat with Dr Richard Sheldrake AM FTSE, our Vice President for Diversity. Here’s what he had to say about diversity, inclusion, and what areas we all need to focus on.

As our Vice President for Diversity, what does diversity and inclusion mean to you?

Contemporary Australia is diverse in every sense.

• Almost 30% of Australians were born overseas, and another 20% were born here with at least one parent who immigrated to Australia
• There are 300 languages spoken in homes across Australia
• Over 60% of Australians identified with one of many different religions or spiritual beliefs
• Australia is home to the oldest continuous culture in the world
• 8% of Australians identify as having Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage
• Australia is recognised as the second (equal with Switzerland) most culturally diverse nation in the world behind Luxembourg.

Being inclusive means ensuring that we are all actively working to overcome the “one-size-fits-all-approach”. This consists of consciously identifying where minority or non-mainstream groups may be disadvantaged, and then actively putting measures in place to address issues.

ATSE will be the most impactful and successful version of itself by fully embracing diversity and inclusion in all its activities.

A concerted national effort is required to overcome the cultural, societal and organisational factors that limit diversity and inclusion. ATSE recognises the role it can play nationally, particularly in driving gender equity.

The key areas for all Australians to focus on are:

• recognising our diversity as an incredible asset
• illustrating the value of our diverse make-up to all Australians
• understanding and respecting diversity at all levels
• acknowledging that diversity means a “one-size-fits-all-approach” won’t work.

How have you personally championed diversity and inclusion as a leader throughout your career?

Leadership sets the culture for any organisation. Encouraging diversity in gender, ethnicity, disability and Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island heritage must come from the top.

It is important that this diversity is reflected in all levels of organisations, and be part of recruitment at every level so that appropriately diverse pools of applicants exist for more senior roles. I successfully used this approach in my time with the NSW Government to move towards gender equity at an executive level.

At the same time, pro-active actions are sometimes useful and necessary to provide leadership and send a message through the organisation that reform is underway. This approach demonstrates your intention to make change, but the real impact can be found when the respective appointments are made.

Australia has not yet made the systemic changes required to achieve diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Our Elevate: Boosting Women in STEM program aims to help this, but what steps are required to get us moving in the right direction?

ATSE is the best placed organisation to successfully deliver this $41 million program on behalf of the Australian Government. This is due to ATSE’s culture, leadership and staff.

ATSE has already completed its first Elevate milestone by holding a broad public consultation process with 183 respondents.

The Elevate Advisory Group is Chaired by two pre-eminent Australians and ATSE Fellows: Dr Marlene Kanga AM FTSE and Dr Adi Paterson FTSE. Having the Advisory Group comprising of diversity advocates is vital to the success of Elevate.

It will be important to get some “early runs on the board” and to share success stories from early Elevate graduates so that future prospective applicants can see the huge opportunities that exist for them.

While this program is addressing gender imbalance within STEM, there are also other groups than need to be considered in future programs, for example: LGBTIQA+ people, people with disability, cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) people, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Individuals should be given equal opportunity regardless of age, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, religion, culture, disability, marital status or political affiliation. Why is diversity so vital to delivering better outcomes?

In a country as diverse as Australia, it is essential that any organisation is reflective of the community.

When I was appointed as the Director-General of a NSW Government Department in 2005, I was saddened to see there were no women on the Executive team. I had come from another department where, as the Director General, I had 40% female appointments to the Executive team.

For a department that consisted of approximately 50% women, the lack of diversity in the leadership group was unacceptable. It meant that decisions couldn’t reflect the needs of the community and opportunities to utilise diverse expertise and talent were lost.

Diverse and inclusive leadership not only models the values of an organisation, but ensures that when developing policies and setting priorities, a wide range of perspectives and expertise are considered and implemented.

Needless to say, an organisational restructure was implemented, and the issue was resolved!

As a male diversity champion, what actions can men take to support diversity in the workplace?

Encourage everyone to take parental leave if applicable and build support systems for teams with parents. This will level the playing field, particularly during hiring activities. If necessary, make affirmative action appointments to help get the message across.

Make it your responsibility to ensure that diversity and inclusion practices are being implemented throughout the organisation. Failing on this count will make it all but impossible to implement diversity and inclusion at the senior levels.

Lead by example, you’ll be surprised what happens when you do. As soon as you take the initiative, there will be a huge number of supporters backing you up who were just waiting for a leader.