Workplace Diversity and Inclusion in Australia

This article discusses workplace diversity and inclusion in Australia, focusing on the role of banks in fostering diversity and the impact of legislation. It also provides recommendations for implementing diversity initiatives.

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Professor
Institution
Date

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WORKPLACE DIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION
Diversity comprises of backgrounds of different cultures merged or come together while
inclusion involves valuing diversity and creating environment where everyone can succeed.
Australia has a population of about 24 million people with a diverse society comprising of
indigenous communities, immigrants, those born overseas among others. These diverse culture
forms the workforce that contributes to the country’s economy.
DISCUSSION
Banks in Australia play a role in fostering diversity by ensuring that its workforce is inclusive
of all backgrounds. They are known to hire employees from various religious, ethnic groups,
physical capabilities and gender. The sources of diversity are usually from the general
population, with few of the employees joining the workforce through international internships
and scholarships (Kopka, Gross & Krueger, 2009).
The commonwealth bank of Australia is one of the major banks found in Australia. It is
committed to diversity and inclusivity and is said to be more diverse than Australia itself.
Different cultures are respected within the industry and a multicultural community is embraced
with most of their employees being free and proud of their cultural heritage.
The workplace diversity is impacted by legislations such as the Equity act of 2010 that
protects people from workplace discrimination (Hale, 2009). The workforce diversity strategy
ensures that indigenous communities as well as people living with disabilities are represented in
the workforce, while the equal opportunity and affirmative action prohibits discrimination
against age, sex, gender, race or religion.

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Commonwealth bank’s policy plan includes diversity and inclusivity. Because of the diverse
culture in Australia, they believe that having a diverse workforce will make it easier to
understand and respond to the needs of their customers (Deresky & Christopher, 2015). Diversity
is viewed under three pillars, that is; the workforce, their customers and the community in which
they strive to become leaders of diversity (Laroche, 2012).
The commonwealth diversity and inclusion report is made to create a culture where
everyone’s uniqueness is recognized. It is achieved by ensuring there are flexible work hours to
accommodate holidays celebrated by different cultures, availability of part time and shared jobs,
gender equality where women are included and a good percentage are found in high ranking
offices and mentoring students from diverse backgrounds (Cropanzano & Ambrose, 2015).
Barriers to inclusive engagement can be personal, cultural or structural and can occur in
instances of racism, sexism, discrimination and abuse.
RECOMMENDATION
The management can champion diversity implementation through carrying out surveys with
the employees and being open and honest with their responses. Time should be taken to learn
about the cultures of their employees as well as their customs and practices. Management should
also participate actively in diversity efforts e.g. through acting as mentors to international
students. Every employee should be treated with respect and all ideas should be considered
equally.
Diversity can then be evaluated against workplace policies by monitoring how the staff is
embracing cultural differences and practices and looking at employee feedback and determining

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if any changes need to be made. Any areas requiring improvement should be identified and
progress can be compared with other companies with similar policies.

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References
Cropanzano, R., & Ambrose, M. (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Justice in the Workplace.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press, USA.
Deresky, H., & Christopher, E. (2015). International Management: Managing Cultural
Diversity. Melbourne, Australia: Pearson Higher Education AU.
Hale, E. (2009). Making Diversity Work for You in the Work Place. Morrisville, NC:
Lulu.com.
Laroche, L. (2012). Managing Cultural Diversity in Technical Professions. London, England:
Routledge.
Kopka, D., Gross, J., & Krueger, B. (2009). Embracing Cultural Diversity: Australia: A
Cross-Curricular Lesson Plan. Lorenz Educational Press.