Inclusive workspaces: Diversity and public policy
29th November 2018
Report title: Inclusive workspaces:
Diversity and public policy
• A new Policy Observatory
/ AUT report on the role of the public sector in diversity
and inclusion.
Authors:
• Professor Edwina Pio,
AUT’s University Director of Diversity
• Mervin
Singham, presently the Executive Director of the Royal
Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in
Care
Workplace inequality remains a challenge for
diversity and inclusion. Ethnic pay gaps continue to
disadvantage Māori, Pacific and Asian workers. Gender pay
gaps have reduced over time in Aotearoa New Zealand, but
there is not equity yet.
In an era of heightened
awareness about gender and ethnic inequalities, what role
can public policy and the state sector play to promote and
encourage positive change?
The Policy Observatory (AUT) is releasing a new report, Inclusive workspaces: Diversity and public policy, which explores what the government can do to improve diversity outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand. Professor Edwina Pio, AUT’s University Director of Diversity, and Mervin Singham, presently the Executive Director of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in Care, explore the New Zealand context and international examples for public sector leadership in diversity and inclusion.
While diversity and inclusion policy in New Zealand already supports a range of ‘soft practices’, the authors argue that there is scope for more robust tactics to address continuing workplace inequalities and to enhance CQ (or ‘cultural intelligence’) in our highly globalised era.
Key ideas in the report include:
• The opportunity for policy makers to be
‘diversity promoters’, and for public sector workplaces
to set the agenda for wider society, by setting precedents
that other workplaces should and can emulate.
• The
overreliance on ‘soft practices’ for diversity and
inclusion in relevant policy, especially the State Sector
Act 1988, which leads to incremental and voluntary
change.
• The array of international examples – from
Canada, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and elsewhere
– that Aotearoa New Zealand might explore for enhanced
policy options.
• The importance of improved
‘cultural intelligence’ (or CQ) for present and future
leaders, which strengthens their capacity to navigate a
world of global mobility and superdiverse communities like
Auckland.
• The importance of the three Es –
Engagement, Exposure and Encouragement – where managers
and staff are urged to engage in the challenge of addressing
inequity, to expose themselves to diverse ways of life, and
to encourage organisations for taking responsibility for
change
The report can be viewed here:
https://thepolicyobservatory.aut.ac.nz/publications/inclusive-workspaces-diversity-and-public-policy
ends