Workplace Diversity: what’s in it for all of us?

Chris Humphreys

A/g Commissioner

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission

Our research

People Born Overseas, Melbourne 2011

Greater Dandenong

4

Expand markets & client bases

Broader knowledge base

More robust decisions

Genuine innovation

Well, now we’ve got diversity.

So why haven’t we got all these

benefits yet?

The business case for Diversity

5

“Diversity” vs “Inclusion”

Diversity

• visible differences

• invisible differences

Inclusion

• an active, ongoing process, that results in…

• shared perceptions of respect, belonging, confidence and inspiration

About the ‘soup’ research

• Three major Australian workplaces

• 1550 employees

• Used an analysis of ‘hard’ data (e.g. performance assessments, absenteeism)

• Key finding: it’s not diversity but inclusion of diversity that has the biggest business benefit.

Inclusion and performance

8

Steps to inclusion

Feeling confident and safe to speak up

Being inspired to do ‘my best work’

Having my unique value known and appreciated

Belonging to the group

What can we do to create these feelings?

9

What is unconscious bias?

Diversity Best Practices 2008 www.diversitybestpractices.com

Personal unconscious bias “…creates hundreds of seemingly irrational circumstances every day…

people make choices that seem to make no sense and are driven by overt prejudice, even when they are not.”

Organisational unconscious bias “…perpetuates the status quo and keeps old patterns, values and

behavioural norms …. in the past.”

Exclusion in recruitment

• Chinese named applications submit 68% more

• Middle Eastern - submit 64 % more

• Indigenous - submit 35% more

• Italian named must submit 12 per cent more

applications (except in Melbourne, 7 % less!) (ANU, 2010)

Local Government and the Charter

How the Commission can assist

Services we provide• Enquiry line 1300292153

• RightSmart Employer Toolkits

• Training and consultancy

• Dispute resolution service for complaints

• Information on our website:

humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au