Diversity spotlight – cultural diversity
Workplace Cultural Diversity Tool
Organisations wishing to pursue a workplace characterised by cultural diversity and inclusion can use the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Workplace Cultural Diversity Tool.
The online tool is designed to help organisations measure themselves against best practice standards in workplace cultural diversity, effectively manage a culturally diverse workforce, plan their business development and chart their progress over time.
The tool details good practice goals for implementing cultural diversity across seven areas, and allows your organisation to self assess as ‘starting out, ‘developing, or ‘advanced’ in seven categories. These are:
- leadership and commitment;
- strategy;
- finding the best staff;
- selecting the best staff;
- keeping the best staff;
- developing a strong culture;
- ensuring that your strategies work.
The assessment tool will score the current status of your diversity initiatives and help you to pick the best areas for making progress.
Resource
Diversity Council Australia refers to ‘culture’ as “a common set of norms and values shared by a group” and ‘cultural diversity’ as “the variation between people in terms of ancestry, ethnicity, ethno-religiosity, language, national origin, race, and/or religion. The Australian Human Rights Comission’s cultural diversity at work toolkit was developed in conjunction with VicHealth and Diversity Council Australia.
Further reading
Diversity Council Australia’s website has a host of resources to help you with your action planning for workplace diversity.