Equity in the Workplace
Welcome to March and our latest issue of The Diversity Atlas sharing diversity, equity and inclusion news and events from the team at Cultural Infusion.
This month, we present our vision of leadership, introduce new team members and celebrate International Women's Day.
Cultural Infusion’s CEO and Founder, Peter Mousaferiadis explains how his leadership style has changed since his career as a classical music composer and orchestral conductor. "Symphonic conducting was the first style of leadership I was acquainted with, when I found myself studying it in my youth in the early 90s. The Western Classical Orchestra tradition is probably the only leadership position left in western society which will tolerate a dictatorial approach to leading.
"Can you imagine if our Prime Minister, or any other liberal country leader, attempted to rule this way? Suffice to say, I do not imagine it would go over well! Almost three decades on, I now know there are many more styles of leadership available to me, fortunately, with our ever-changing environment and the emergence of different waves of social justice movement."
Welcoming Veronica Pardo to the team as the Executive Director of Partnerships and Development at Cultural Infusion.
For 10 years, Veronica was the CEO of Arts Access Victoria, the state’s leading arts and disability organisation before taking up the role of executive director of Multicultural Arts Victoria in 2018.
Veronica has been able to lead organisations, campaigns and become a voice for underrepresented communities. She has served on numerous boards and her social activist work in making communities more equitable and representative dovetails into the vision of Cultural Infusion which is to create a culturally harmonious world.
International Woman's Day, or IWD, celebrated annually on March 8 is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the contribution of women in all fields.
Here at Cultural Infusion, our cohort of women have shared their thoughts:
“To me gender equity means being respected for who we are and the particular talents we bring to any given situation. It also means changing harmful behaviours in a patriarchal society.” Nisha
“IWD is an empowering day for all women, I believe. It’s a day that binds us together, and enables us to share our achievements and challenges. Sometimes, harsh and unrealistic expectations of women in society can divide us and foster competition. IWD reminds us that we have common struggles and can achieve more by uniting in solidarity.” Nicola
Diversity Atlas in the media
The team at Cultural Infusion, the developers of Diversity Atlas, were set to present at one of the world's leading mining industry conferences in Melbourne last month. Although the conference didn't happen, we did feature in industry publications promoting the value of diversity and inclusion.
Peter was set to speak at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) recently, but the event was postponed due to COVID. His keynote speech at IMARC would have looked at the mining sector and the value it brings, but also how to consider its processes through a diversity lens.
“The mining industry brings so much value, but I think it would be a lot more value to the sector and every single mining company in the world. It’s not just about how diverse the workforce is, it’s also about how that diversity is managed.”
The number of females in the mining sector is growing with around 40 per cent of entry-level roles being filled by women.
Cultural Infusion has achieved ISO 27001 certification, the world’s leading standard for information security management systems.
ISO 27001 considers how we assess our risks and how much risk we can accept, and how any risk can be mitigated or controlled.
Spearheaded by our Chief Technology Officer and Digital Projects Director Rezza Moieni, the certification process was he result of an enormous effort from the entire team.
“Prefer Not To Answer” – An Answer In and Of Itself
Within the Diversity Atlas survey, ‘Prefer not to Answer’ is a prominent option. This practice is in line with our code of conduct, our ethos and our data collection strategy, as it should be with any survey provider gathering what we could call ‘sensitive information’.
It is Cultural Infusion's belief that ‘Prefer not to Answer’ (herein referred to as PNTA) is an answer in and of itself in any case. If we note a trend whereby in Cohort A, ‘PNTA’ on Religion is much higher than in Cohort B, that provides an immediate and obvious insight that can be acted upon. Likewise, the same could be said for internal comparisons. If one department of a company has a high rate of PNTA Religion and another department has a low PNTA Religion, we would want to ask: Why? And what can we do about this? Interestingly, participants always have the option of putting in a false answer.
Cultural Infusion believe that by selecting PNTA rather than giving a false answer is an interesting message; “I do not want to share this aspect of my identity, but nor will I be untruthful.” This in turn poses interesting challenges and opportunities for the DEI leaders and Cultural Infusion.
A recent update we have made to our product is to provide a PNTA analysis against itself, horizontally. Which of the questions had the highest rate of PNTA? Was it disability? Sexual orientation? Ancestry? Religion? This instant analysis of PNTA figures is illuminating. It provides our customer with an insight as to which cultural or demographic attribute (acquired or intrinsic) causes the most level of discomfort in sharing, which in turn will allow our customers to roll out targeted DEI programs. It is just one small piece of analysis, but the results can provide enormous opportunities.
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Cultural Infusion (CUIN)Address: Suite 2, 273-277 Wellington Street, Collingwood, VIC 3066
Email: info@culturalinfusion.org.au
Website: https://culturalinfusion.org.au