Mesures prises:
Domestic Work
ARC has adopted a new Strategy (valid until June 2027). Our strategic goals are aligned to Impact, Brand, People, Revenue and Organisational Foundations. The People goal is relevant for this report and ARC will invest in new capabilities in ‘Our People (Skills, Culture, Inclusion, Diversity)’, specifically our goal to be a ‘[w]elcoming, inclusive organisation reflecting the diversity of our communities (focus on First Nations peoples)’.
ARC embraces diversity and actively fosters inclusion through the diversity of our people. Our culture is underpinned by respect, belonging and connection. We employ, support and provide opportunities to current and prospective employees in a way that is inclusive of disability, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, relationship status, age, culture, ethnicity and faith.
ARC has demonstrated a strong commitment to increasing our capability and capacity with respect to inclusion and diversity more broadly, by appointing a Head of Inclusion & Diversity to the Executive Team on 19 July 2021. This was closely followed by the creation of a small team to deliver on our commitments, with the appointment of an Inclusion & Diversity Project Lead (25 October 2021) and an Inclusion & Diversity Senior Manager (8 November 2021).
Please note that ARC is intentionally taking a broader lens to inclusion and diversity which includes gender, but also many other characteristics. ARC’s 2023-24 Workplace Gender Equality Reporting, indicates that we have achieved a desirable gender balance in leadership roles. ARC people (employees, members and volunteers) are 70%+ female. ARC’s Board is comprised of 9 female Directors and 5 male Directors, including a male President and female Vice President. Whilst the interim CEO is female, the men make up the majority of the current Executive team, which is comprised of 4 women (two of which are interim appointments currently) and 5 men. It has been noted that the smallest proportions of female employees exist at the highest job grades with greater leadership responsibilities.
Embracing a broader approach to inclusion and diversity will help ARC to remain a relevant, credible actor in Australia, and within the Movement. It is worth noting that the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement was established within a western cultural and normative context. For ARC to live up to its Inclusion & Diversity ideals, it must:
- broaden the diversity of ARC people to reflect the diversity of people in Australia
- adopt aligned program approaches (e.g., place-based, locally-led work)
- ensure systems apply equitably and that procedures are, to greatest possible extent, free from bias and barriers, and
- create an inclusive and welcoming culture where all Red Cross people feel they belong.
The first Inclusion & Diversity Strategy was launched in early 2024 for implementation until 2027.
ARC’s I&D vision: ‘By embracing the diverse identities and lived experiences of employees, volunteers, members and the communities we serve, we will continue to strengthen an inclusive and welcoming culture where every person is respected and valued, feels safe to be culturally confident, and where belonging is a core Australian Red Cross experience’.
ARC’s I&D goal: ‘If the diversity of Australian Red Cross people is representative of the diversity of Australia’s population, we will understand our communities better and together, deliver better programs and activities to meet their needs, and become a more inclusive organisation for all’.
The delivery of the I&D Strategy is underpinned by a partnership between the I&D team and First Nations Centrality team that will collaborate and support the First Nations Centrality team to bring First Nations Centrality to life across the organisation, and support development and implementation of a new Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), launched in May 2024.
Embedded in the I&D Strategy’s implementation plan are the following key objectives to support women’s engagement and leadership:
- Principles of I&D embedded and practised within all Divisions, including I&D key performance indicators in divisional workplans
- Monitor Belonging as a core experience, and , Inclusion, Equity and Diversity at Australian Red Cross annually via qualitative and quantitative means
- Offer First Nation and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people positions on all Leadership Programs
- Support GLOW Red, the global network of RCRC women leaders, by helping to create an Asia Pacific region network
- Create resources/support for women of all life stages at ARC
- Australian Red Cross recruitment processes are inclusive, accessible and equitable to attract diversity of identity and lived experiences, aligned to our Diversity Aspiration
- Recruitment equity initiatives are in place to support our Diversity Aspiration
- Ensure First Nations employees are represented across all Divisions and all levels
- Implement a Reverse Mentoring Program to builds visibility of diversity at all levels
- Increase employment participation opportunities through job sharing
Complementary to the I&D Strategy are the ARC’s Organisational Capability Framework and the Reconciliation Action Plan, both of which seek to intersectionally elevate the leadership of women at ARC.
Such initiatives already underway or implemented to ensure women are represented at decision-making levels in an equal and meaningful way include:
- A Gender Pay Gap paper that went to ARC’s Nominations and Remuneration Committee on 12th October 2021, detailing that ARC’s gender pay gap is below the National and Health and Social Assistance Industry benchmarks
- In 2019, ARC developed the 6 month long Accelerate Leadership Program in partnership with the Melbourne Business School. This leadership development opportunity is tailored for women/ anyone who identifies as a woman and concludes with an MBS certification. It is designed to support aspiring ARC women who are keen to make greater impact through greater leadership opportunities. Since inception, two programs have been delivered to 33 women from across Australia and 1 from Pakistan Red Crescent, who were employees or volunteers. A revised Accelerate program will be delivered in late 2024. Whilst intersectional participant data was not recorded, both cohorts were considerably diverse. Such diversity ensured participants were able to confidentially and safely share challenges that they felt as women in the workplace, and considerations such as cultural load and dynamics (particularly relating to topics such as power dynamics etc.). Our ongoing commitment to First Nations Centrality ensured each program had placements reserved for First Nations women. First Nations Leadership team identify potential participants with 2 First Nations women have participated in Accelerate.
- A key action in the RAP that focuses on improving employment outcomes by increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruitment, retention, and professional development, with key employment targets across the organisation embedded in this action’s deliverables.
ARC’s I&D Policy was updated in early 2024, reflecting our revised and strengthened commitments to Inclusion and Diversity and the facilitation of belonging as core Australian Red Cross experience. This policy is inclusive of our commitments to gender equity and equality and legislative requirements outlined by the Workplace Gender Equality Act. Under this Australian legislation, employers with 500 or more employees must have policies and/or strategies that address each these 6 Gender Equality Indicators (GEIs).
- GEI1 – Gender composition of the workforce: measures the participation rates of women, men and non-binary employees in the workforce.
- GEI2 – gender composition of governing bodies of relevant employers: measures the gender composition of boards or governing bodies of relevant employers.
- GEI3 – equal remuneration between women and men: looks at the difference between the average and median remuneration of women and men and the actions employers are taking to reduce the gender pay gap.
- GEI4 – availability and utility of employment terms, conditions and practices relating to flexible working arrangements for employees and to working arrangements supporting employees with family or caring responsibilities: measures employer policies, strategies and actions relating to flexible working arrangements as well as parental, caring and family violence leave and support for employees.
- GEI5 – consultation with employees on issues concerning gender equality in the workplace: measures how, when and how often employers engage with their employees on issues of workplace gender equality
- GEI6 – sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination: measures employer policies, strategies and actions to prevent and respond to sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination in the workplace.
International Work
As a part of its work on protection, gender and inclusion (PGI) in the Asia Pacific region, Australian Red Cross is committed to working with our National Society partners to increase diversity of their leadership and governance, including increased gender diversity.
- Australian Red Cross funded the development of a Guidance Note on Equal Opportunities for Leadership through the IFRC Asia Pacific Regional Office. This note forms the basis of a workshop package that can be used by National Societies to identify opportunities and barriers to increasing diversity among their leadership and governance representatives. The packages is currently being piloted in Fiji and the Maldives.
- Australian Red Cross, as an active member of the GLOW Red Network since inception, has supported the Network and National Societies to participate. Australian Red Cross has also supported women leaders within the Asia Pacific region to participate in GLOW Red activities and initiatives, has contributed ten stories to GLOW Red’s 100 Voices project which ‘gathers stories of inspirational RCRC women from the very beginning of the Movement until present day…showcasing the collective and individual commitments and contributions that women have made to the Movement in every corner of the world’. Finally, Australian Red Cross former Head of Inclusion & Diversity, Fiona Davies, attended in the 2023 Annual Meeting in Mongolia and has supported the Network’s administration.
- Australian Red Cross has furthermore provided technical and financial support to National Society partners in the Asia Pacific to strengthen the capacity and profile of women leaders in disaster risk management. This has included work to support National Societies to engage with their relevant disaster management authorities to identify pathways for women leaders across the disaster risk management continuum.
- As a part of its International Program, Australian Red Cross has supported National Societies in the Asia Pacific region to identify barriers to women moving into leadership roles. This included funding the development of a workshop package that National Societies can use to identify barriers and solutions in their own contexts.
- As a member of the Pacific Presidents’ and Secretaries-General’s Networks, Australian Red Cross has work with other National Society Leaders in the region to promote diversity and inclusion at the leadership level and encourage more women to be elected to senior leadership and governance positions.
- Australian Red Cross has provided financial and technical support to IFRC initiatives to promote women leaders, such as the FLARE Network of women in disaster risk management.
Challenges
Australian Red Cross has undergone a significant organisational redesign process since late 2022. This has impacted the speed of delivery and the continuity of some strategic inclusion and diversity initiatives.
To offset the impact of the redesign, the organisation has identified initiatives that could be delivered within this context and could also play a role in the redesign process. Such initiatives include the establishment of workforce inclusion networks focussing on people with lived experience of migration, First Nations employees, LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, and culturally and linguistically diverse people. These networks seek to:
- Build and enhance the visibility of these communities within Australian Red Cross, and the challenges, implications, and enablers to their sense of belonging and connection.
- Provide support and lived perspective of the issues and needs of people with diverse lived experiences and identities to Australian Red Cross People and teams (particularly in the areas of policy, education, and training).
- To provide a connection point for all Australian Red Cross people with diverse lived experiences and identities and their allies
- To internally advocate on the issues of people with diverse lived experiences and identities at Australian Red Cross.
From December 2022 until April 2024, the Inclusion & Diversity and the First Nations Centrality teams delivered live virtual onboarding training for over 600 new employees, focussed on building their capacity to facilitate belonging and First Nations Centrality at Australian Red Cross.
The I&D team has been engaged in organisational redesign consultation processes. Throughout this period of transformation, the I&D team has been asked to provide guidance on how ARC can ensure any redesign is informed by the organisation’s strategic focus on I&D and related goals.
Further, senior leadership has prioritised building a deeper understanding of the diverse lived experiences and identities across the organisational structure, via the annual Inclusion & Diversity survey and survey of the diversity of the Executive, all of which has offered additional insights for the organisational redesign.
