Votre État/Société nationale/institution a-t-il/elle incorporé les engagements contenus dans cette résolution dans les plans stratégiques ou opérationnels pertinents ?
OuiLes engagements sont incorporés dans les documents suivants:
Stratégie
Politique
Plan opérationnel
Au International, Régional, National niveau
Précisions :
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 creating an Inclusion & Diversity team to deliver on our commitments.
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 11men. 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.
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
Australian Red Cross and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) have a longstanding partnership focussed on strengthening locally led humanitarian action in the Asia Pacific region. The partnership enhances National Society institutional and financial sustainability through multi-year flexible funding and provision of technical support, including for protection, gender and inclusion. The partnership also emphasises improving the effectiveness of locally led disaster risk management and influencing humanitarian system reform.
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.
Votre État/Société nationale/institution a-t-il/elle coopéré avec d’autres partenaires aux fins de la mise en œuvre des engagements contenus dans cette résolution ?
OuiPartenariats avec :
CICR/Fédération internationale
Autres Sociétés nationales de la Croix-Rouge ou du Croissant-Rouge
Autre
Exemples de coopération :
Domestic Work
A key initiative involved undertaking an organisational-wide Inclusion & Diversity Review, which commenced in early December 2021.
The Review was conducted by Myriad International Consulting Services in collaboration with the Healing Foundation, and governance was led and guided by a working group comprised of ARC Board members, the CEO and members of the Executive Team.
International Work
As outlined above, the IFRC Asia Pacific Regional office has been a key counterpart in the development of the Guidance Note on Equal Opportunities for Leadership and its accompanying workshop package. Australian Red Cross has worked with our National Society partners in the Asia Pacific region to identify opportunities to increase diversity of their leadership and governance representatives. This has also included work with the GLOW Red Network.
As the final outcome of the Pacific Leaders meeting, the new Chairs for future meetings were elected resulting in 50:50 gender split with the Vice President of Tonga Red Cross and the Director General of Fiji Red Cross being appointed. The same re-commitment was also made at the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference held in Hanoi.
In June, Australian Red Cross participated in the GLOW Red network meeting hosted by Mongolia Red Cross. GLOW Red is a voluntary network of Red Cross Red Crescent women leaders from across the world, supporting women to grow and lead. The meeting brought together participants from all geographic regions and of all diverse functions and job profiles, as well as diverse levels of seniority. The meeting accomplished several practical outcomes:
1. Finalised the new GLOW Red Strategy 2023-2027 and developed a global action plan for its implementation.
2. Created a GLOW Red Asia-Pacific Regional Network; identified three new regional focal points and drafted a concrete regional action plan for the Asia-Pacific region.
3. Identified possible funding streams and next steps for human resource mobilisation to support the network and set priorities for the GLOW Red secretariat.
In addition to the influencing work on diversity and inclusion which has taken place in forums like the Pacific Presidents Network and statutory meetings, Australian Red Cross continues to support IFRC measures for women to comprise 50 per cent of leadership positions. This includes participating in, and funding, various IFRC-led working groups such as the FLARE peer-to-peer initiative for women in emergency response and the GLOW Red Network of senior women leaders which focuses on mentoring and peer-to-peer support for up-and-coming female leaders.
Thanks to contributions from Australian Red Cross, the Asia Pacific FLARE network began meeting regularly in 2021. Deliberately focusing on women in operational roles, to ensure complementarity with GLOW RED and the Pacific President’s Network – Women in Governance Working Group, the FLARE network aims to build a professional network across the region and continues to grow its membership. In 2021 conversations have centred around diverse leadership during COVID-19 (https://humanitarianadvisorygroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/HAG_IRCRC_Diverse-leadershipFINAL.pdf) and the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.
Vous êtes-vous heurté·e à des difficultés dans la mise en œuvre des engagements contenus dans cette résolution?
OuiDifficultés rencontrées :
Priorités concurrentes
Manque de capacités et/ou de soutien (technique, financier ou autre)
Précisions au sujet des difficultés :
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.
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.
Les engagements contenus dans cette résolution ont-ils eu une ou des incidences sur l’action et les orientations de votre État/Société nationale/institution ?
OuiType d’incidence :
Les programmes et les opérations sont devenus plus efficaces et plus efficients.
Des outils/méthodes innovateurs ont été élaborés et sont utilisés.
La formation et les capacités du personnel et des volontaires ont été renforcées (pour les Sociétés nationales).
Autre
Précisions au sujet des incidences :
Domestic Work
The commitments contained in this resolution have served as a reminder for Australian Red Cross to monitor and address the experience of gender.
Whilst women comprise over 70% of Australian Red Cross employees, members and volunteers, gender inequities still exist within the organisation. Australian Red Cross, established by women 110 years ago and operationalised by a predominantly female workforce since, within our employee workforce, the smallest proportions of women exist at the highest job grades with greater leadership responsibilities.
The annual I&D survey identifies and reports to senior leaders where gendering and gender imbalances exist within the organisational experience and understand how this impacts the experience of belonging for all genders.
We recognise the importance of understanding the life stage needs of women in order to attract and retain women within leadership roles. As such, in 2023, the I&D survey asked for the first time about employees’ parental and carer status in an effort to better understand the prevalence of competing life stage demands of all genders. The I&D Strategy has also committed to creating resources & support for women of all life stages to best support their development and wellbeing of women and identify policy gaps such as those related to menopause.
Whilst Australian Red Cross has not included a women-specific inclusion network to date, we have adopted a strong intersectionality mindset across the organisation to ensure that the experience of gender, and related marginalisation and privileges are considered and integrated across the work of all inclusion networks. The inclusion networks consider gender in key events that serve to both acknowledge and build the capability of our people. In 2024, our inclusion networks acknowledged International Women’s Day and Neurodiversity Celebration Week with an event that focused on the experiences of neurodivergent women within Australian Red Cross.
Finally, our engagement in GLOW Red’s key initiative, the 100 Voices Project, by contributing 10 case studies of Australian Red Cross women, and other GLOW Red activities is a clear acknowledgement of and commitment to its purposes within the Movement.
International Work
Australian Red Cross has provided input into consultations led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on its upcoming international gender equality strategy, which reaffirms the centrality of gender equality to Australia’s foreign policy, international development assistance, humanitarian action, trade and security efforts. DFAT is also working closely with the Commonwealth Office for Women to learn from the views and priorities identified for Australia’s forthcoming National Strategy for Gender Equality.
This is part of Australian Government’s broader efforts in working with governments, humanitarian organisations and civil society groups in championing a focus on gender, sexual and gender-based violence, protection and women’s leadership. We note in particular the commitments in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and the advancement of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 under Australia’s second National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS 2021-203.
ARC and DFAT are currently designing the next stage of their partnership for the delivery of international programs in the Asia Pacific region (2025-2032). In line with the Australian Government commitment to gender equality, the new design will include a strong focus on promoting women and people of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) with lived experience of disasters throughout programming and, in particular, in decision-making roles.