Last week,
The virtual panel, jointly organised by CBA's LGBTI+ employee network
As representatives of some of the biggest customer-facing employers in the country, the CEOs acknowledged the enormous influence and responsibility they have in ensuring their organisations reflect
'It's important that our 40,000 plus people feel safe, respected and supported so they can be at their very best and achieve their potential, which in turn has a fundamentally positive impact on families, businesses and communities,' said
'When people feel that we've moved beyond having to 'fit in' and that they belong, then we can focus on people really being able to thrive,' added
The panel agreed that diversity is more than just reaching certain key performance indicators (although KPI's are still valuable measures of progress), and must rather be viewed as a fundamental and ingrained part of an organisation's culture - which starts at the very top.
'Culture is not some adjunct to an organisation - it is the organisation. It is fundamentally about the way we do things. It's hugely important and it does start at boards,' said
'It's important that people in decision making areas of organisations, actually have a good sense of the customers and the people that they're ultimately leading and serving, and they're representative of that,' added
'I know my board is very focused on diversity of all levels, including diversity of thought and leadership style. A huge part of that is about attracting people who feel comfortable challenging any level of the organisation, and feel that they're working for someone who listens, and has the right level of empathy and understanding.'
ABC Radio National's
The panellists agreed that during challenging times - including the past 18 months where many employees have had to work remotely - it is a strong culture that ensures employees still feel energised, productive, and connected to their organisation.
'A strong culture, particularly when everyone is distributed, is absolutely critical. Because you can't rely on the usual management interventions and tools that you would otherwise have', said
At its most fundamental level, an inclusive workplace is also a community, customer and shareholder expectation, with Environmental, Social and Governance considerations becoming more important to investors in recent years. For
'The business case is always strong. Not only do shareholders want it, customers who feel a company is advocating on their behalf are far more loyal,' he said.
'We have a huge number of LGBTIQ+ employees, and they expect the leader of the company to be out there advocating on their behalf. If you're not, you are missing in action. That creates another virtuous circle: happy customers, happy shareholders and happy employees, who feel that the company is working on their behalf.'
While there has been great progress in the past few decades,
'It's more important than ever that we have our allies out there,'
As supporters and partners of the
Speaking about the sponsorship,
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Watch the virtual panel event here
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