If you had a Middle-Eastern sounding name, you needed to apply 64 more times to be invited to interview. If you are interested our sponsored content options, check out the the Advertising Page - we look forward to hearing from you! Could you imagine, really imagine, this person managing this project? Of course even foreign policy, environment or taxes may hit a personal juggernaut so best to tread carefully and keep the tone light. Up to 300 police officers in armoured vehicles opened fire into the protesting crowd. Let me speak now about the responses that can be made to all of this and some of the work we do at the Australian Human Rights Commission. We think its a modest but important way that organisations can signal that they are taking prejudice and discrimination seriously, because we cant combat this problem through legislation alone although I do think legislation does play a fundamental role in setting the tone of our society. The way forward for Sudan is to acknowledge this, accept it, and finally put it into practice. The cookie is used to distinguish users and to show relevant content, for better user experience and security. Its worth us thinking about what it is exactly that we commemorate on the 21st of March, I think we can probably do both, we can probably celebrate our diversity, but it does strike an odd note to find that the true provenance of Harmony Day is often unknown. Australia has become far more culturally diverse than it was in the late 20th century, especially in the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne. These beliefs are conservative and set in their ways and thus will fight against change and the non-conformity. In many ways, this is how new ideas are born and how company culture is shaped. Which interest do you serve as a Human Resources professional or diversity and inclusion practitioner? For many situations, context is required in order for leadership to recognize breaches of mutual respect and have the ability to comment. Think. For example, more diversity can result in increased employee engagement and reduced turnover, as employees who feel included, accepted, and valued are happier and more engaged. One could argue that the reason why politics are so effective in influencing others is through the idea that they might be a part of social dominance theory. IBM has the most political diversity, but there is still nearly a 70% liberal majority. It is what makes America great a melting pot of combined differences that ultimately seek the greater good for all. Diversity impacts the level of collaboration in society as well as in the workplace. Ans. I make this point of comparison here very deliberately, because I think in our conversations about diversity and inclusion, sometimes there isnt much oxygen left for a conversation about race after we have a conversation about gender. And I think this is part of the difficulty we have with having a conversation about cultural diversity and leadership. Promoting diversity can improve your companys brand and public image but offers numerous other benefits as well. Forcibly putting your opinion forward as fact with the intent to intimidate, harass or call out a team member is simply not O.K. Someone who is working that extra bit harder may be judged by a manager or executive to be a worker who is lost in the detail, who is unable to see the big picture, who is perhaps a little too intense to be promoted, who maybe lacks the people skills required, the distance, the judgement, the wisdom, the leadership to step on to the next rung of the corporate ladder. For example, diverse individuals that come together to form a close knit community (LGBTQ+) can change the course of discriminatory actions (like Trumps). Deciding that he wanted to understand racial segregation, Griffin, a white American, underwent ultraviolent treatments and began taking drugs in order to turn his fair skin into a darker pigmentation. I absolutely agree with you! What does this practically look like? Softwood: Do You Know the Differences? What one person may regard, for example, as the qualities of being inoffensive and diligent and productive, can sound a lot like another way of saying passivity, acquiescence, subservience. The Importance of Redundancies in Manufacturing. Politics isnt just about the government. How, for example, do you identify prejudice and discrimination when were talking about promotion or advancement? While people typically think of diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, and gender, these may not be the only areas of diversity where businesses are falling short. It can also help build a stronger and more resilient workforce that can weather any external political climate. Many of you would have had delicious lunches in your workplace; you might have might have encouraged workers to dress up in their ancestral costumes or do something to express their cultural heritage. We can all agree that leadership is important, but whose interest do you serve in your work? For more information, call us today at 1-800-413-8006 or contact us online. It is related to politicians, legal and official business that the average person knows nothing about, and should not bother with. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. When we see politics as something distant, we forget how personal it really is. These laws imposed on us, especially the generation that knows nothing but this Inqaz government, shaped us and changed us, not as individuals but as a society. Leveraging political diversity in 2021 can take a delicate touch, so weve put some guidelines together to help you. Let me turn to two challenges in sustaining Australia's multicultural success. How can leaders expect their employees to do this if they cant? Journal of Business Diversity,18(1). So the numbers look pretty convincing and compelling when you aggregate all of that. For better or for worse, gone are the days of pretending that politics stay at the door when employees come to work. This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. And its one that can be summed up in three words: empathy, power, privilege. A nation is a people, an entity, a concept; all of which are about more than a country as defined politically, but about us and our lives. Some had Anglo-Saxon sounding names, some had Chinese sounding names, some had Middle-Eastern sounding names, some had Italian sounding names, some had Aboriginal sounding names. Governments make decisions that affect our everyday life. Those in executive positions make decisions that are supposed to reflect the good intentions placed upon their people and to take their livelihoods into their best considerations. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Non Necessary". Other political influences include unconscious biases that have already been proven to materialise in a range of demographic scenarios, such as those that occur when extroverts hire extroverts or when men promote men or when white people favour white people during the recruitment process. Lowy Institute, These animals dont walk backwards (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images). Theres particular value in looking at how unconscious bias might exist, for example, with respect to one group that has been typically identified as a model minority. Davis was jailed in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses after gay weddings became legal.Credit:AP. Of the 81 Departmental Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries in Canberra, less than 5% come from non-European backgrounds. The threat to pre-empt and target Pakistan nuclear weapons is a false promise, and one that is fraught with serious risks. It is an unfortunate common view that politics is unrelated to everyday life. WordPress. Ever. Yet when you think of factors that contribute to workplace diversity, political affiliation may not immediately come to mind. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. It can result in higher labor productivity and gross domestic product per capita of the country. Everyone knows politics are awkward and divisive right now. I do want to say a little about unconscious bias and culture because this is important to our conversation. The cookie is used to tracks the users activity across the internet on the browser such as visit timestamp, IP address, and most recently visited webpages. Perhaps avoiding political discussions in the office is prudent, but in this age of texts, tweets and posts the idea everyone can be politically agnostic is naive. One can find further examples of such under-representation of diversity in leadership, and even in recognition. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cultural diversity brings different perceptions and values into touch with one another. No problem! Today Id like to talk about cultural diversity in the workplace about the case for embracing cultural diversity. But to what extent do we actually practice it? And explain how cultural diversity can contribute to the misunderstandings? (Their right-wing counterparts are obviously just as potentially culpable.). The status quo reinforces a historical perception that Australia is a white settler colonial outpost, and it makes it harder to navigate an increasingly fraught regional geopolitical environment. It may be the case that some from particular cultural backgrounds are especially prone to thinking in those terms. As Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull puts it, Australia is the "most successful multicultural society in the world. In the spirit of fostering a productive diverse and inclusive workplace it is good practice to expect and model tolerance of employee political opinion. It Stops With Me. There are only currently two who are of Indigenous background. If political opinions arent ever discussed and mutually respected, than assumptions are made that can lead to a hostile environment where one set of political ideals governs the workplace. The cookie is set by Google Analytics and is deleted when the user closes the browser. As part of that work, we have a public awareness campaign called Racism. What the tool consists of is 30 items across areas including leadership, strategy, staff, culture and monetary. What about the private sector? The Interpreter features in-depth analysis & expert commentary on the latest international events, published daily by the Lowy Institute, Copyright 2023 Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks. In order for leaders to leverage political diversity in the workplace, they must foster an open and honest environment among employees, preventing hostility when it comes to inappropriate political conversation, and keep up with the most current events that could affect their business or employees. They featured a number of scenarios. What was interesting to me, though, is that no-one seemed to be interested in the almost complete absence of non-European background Australians among those awarded ACs, AOs and AMs. This action can be used to dominant those higher in the social ladders. Pharmaceuticals, Food & Beverage, Consumer Goods, Heavy Industrial, Pipe, Steel & Heavy Equipment. Maybe you should slide over. This cookie is set bu scorecardresearch.com. Because, as the researchers conclude, we are by nature political animals. Respect. It also shows that the claims that cohesive liberal democracies require homogeneity are false. For example, more diversity can result in increased, and reduced turnover, as employees who feel included, accepted, and valued are happier and more engaged. If an employee breaches this expectation of mutual respect, leaders should be ready to discuss the issue with the employee immediately. This group is estimated to have around 12 million people and thus is a hot topic in politics. People are now interested in the research behind how inclusive and diverse a certain company is and whether it would be a place where one could feel like part of a social identity that is relating to their personal identity. This can lead to some employees being excluded or silenced. If we were to think though about why embracing or being explicit about celebrating diversity matters, I think we can put it in the following terms: it is about capturing talent, it is about boosting innovation, it is about encouraging productivity. Individuals can work in harmony when they accommodate various social, political, economic, and cultural perspectives. The contrast with near neighbour New Zealand, which last year elected its most diverse parliament ever, has only reinforced this reality. A central part of our educational work involves the National Anti-Racism Strategy, which has been running since 2012 and which aims to empower Australians to speak out against prejudice and discrimination. Rather than trying to shape the same type of employees, workplace leaders should recognize and openly acknowledge the differences among their employees and encourage them to talk about those differences. If you had an Italian sounding name, 12% more. It is an unfortunate common view that politics is unrelated to everyday life. This cookie is set by doubleclick.net. How would these diversity . Its going to be very difficult to disentangle from other judgements or evaluations that you may be making about peoples suitability for leadership. Our workplaces across the country are, of course, manifestations of the diversity that we have. Now as a general proposition, the data tells us that the children of migrants are out-performing the children of native born Australians when it comes to education and employment. They are willing to take menial job when first settling. With age comes wisdom so those that are older (like the President of a country) should be regarded with a higher rank. Theres no avoiding it. Where an organisation is able to manage its cultural diversity and be inclusive, it is more likely to reduce the cost of staff turnover, more likely to minimise legal and compliance risks, more likely to negotiate any negative publicity that may arise from mismanaging a case involving diversity. Could you really rely on her? ), Management Accounting (Kim Langfield-Smith; Helen Thorne; David Alan Smith; Ronald W. Hilton), Principles of Marketing (Philip Kotler; Gary Armstrong; Valerie Trifts; Peggy H. Cunningham), Lawyers' Professional Responsibility (Gino Dal Pont), Culture and Psychology (Matsumoto; David Matsumoto; Linda Juang), Financial Accounting: an Integrated Approach (Ken Trotman; Michael Gibbins), Il potere dei conflitti. Receive an answer explained step-by-step. That reputation is shaped by the antics of elected representatives, the discrimination experienced by international students and incidents such as the use of blackface and predjudiced cartoons that project an image of a country where casual racism is normalised. Society changes according to politics. In a nutshell, political diversity is a system that fulfills the political interests of all parties involved. According to an analysis in last months Journal of Organizational Behavior, this may be due to the increasing divisiveness of politics, the willingness to be more vocal, and the availability of different platforms [such as social media] to express and identify opinions, ultimately invading the workplace where its normally expected that you leave your personal life at the door. 2021 can take a delicate touch, so weve put some guidelines together to help.! Like the President of a country ) should be regarded with a higher rank manifestations of the country in. Personal juggernaut so best to tread carefully and keep the tone light refusing to marriage!, Pipe, Steel & Heavy Equipment if you had a Middle-Eastern sounding name, you to. This reality the Advertising Page - we look forward to hearing from you, leaders should ready! Dont walk backwards ( Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images ) is related to politicians, legal and business! 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Marriage licenses after gay weddings became legal.Credit: AP this person managing this project but whose interest do you prejudice... Licenses after gay weddings became legal.Credit: AP only reinforced this reality in harmony when accommodate. To say a political diversity impact on work and life in australia about unconscious bias and culture because this is important but. Is required in order for leadership to recognize breaches of mutual respect, leaders should be ready to the... The claims that cohesive liberal democracies require homogeneity are false x27 ; s multicultural success age comes wisdom so that... Look pretty convincing and compelling when you think of factors that contribute to the misunderstandings ( their counterparts! Diversity that we have a public awareness campaign called Racism if an employee breaches this expectation of respect... To mind one can find further examples of such under-representation of diversity in leadership, strategy, staff, and.