ALC Diversity & Inclusion Summit
1
Prof Gillian Triggs
President
10th November 2016
Australian Logistics Council:Diversity & Inclusion Summit
Human Rights in Supply chains:Promoting positive practice 2015
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-
and-freedoms/publications/human-rights-supply-
chains-promoting-positive-practice
• Revelations that garments are manufactured in factories where workers are routinely exploited
Investors and human rights: Rip Curl
Photo: Anjaly Thomas/Sydney Morning Herald
Uber Taxi Australian Human Rights Commission
• Timely, free access to justice for individuals, employers, service providers and governments
• 2013-2014 Commission received 19,688 inquiries and 2,223 formal complaints.
• Two thirds of complaints relate to employment and delivery of goods and services: ie: business is both the cause and solution to human rights breaches
• 72% of complaints are successfully resolved
ALC Diversity & Inclusion Summit
2
Complaint of pregnancy
discrimination in employment:
Complainant: • Boss of retail business asks young woman in permanent part-time job to
go fulltime .
She declines as she was pregnant and unable to work fulltime.
She claimed the Boss asked her ‘where does that leave us then?’ and asked her to resign.
The complaint was conciliated through the Commission
• Agreement that the retailer pay the complainant $5,000 as general damages.
Complaint of sexual harassment in
employment:Complainant is store employee with freight company.
• She said sexual comments written about her on the walls of the men's bathroom. • She also claimed a colleague sexually harassed her by propositioning her for a
sexual relationship. • Complainant made a complaint to manager but was not satisfied with investigation. • She is transferred to a different location
Conciliation
Company agreed to:• apologize• return complainant to original work• external investigation of allegations and documented checks on men's bathrooms. • display anti-discrimination posters• meetings on discrimination and harassment • facilitate staff training
Complaint of racial discrimination in employment:
Aboriginal complainant apprentice with company claimed supervisor made racially offensive remarks: e.g:
“speaking of black s**t, here comes one now”
• did not allow him to undertake a training course • did not allocate work to him because of his race. • Refused work with company
Conciliation
Company to:• Apologise• pay him $5,000 general damages. • Undertake review of complaint
The Power of Oldness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks8P9ZTdmhY&list=UUUXdwdj5er652RaIg8EsU8g
Benefits for the economy
• Diversity
83% of 495 businesses surveyed agreed that diversity initiatives have a positive impact on their business. The main reasons for this include the ability to:
� Resolve labour shortages, improve staff loyalty and retain high quality staff
� Enhance business reputation and image
� Improve innovation leading to new products and services, and also access to new customer bases
Benefits for the economy
• Disability
� closing the gap in unemployment of those with disabilities by one-third … -$43 billion increase in GDP (Deloitte Access Economics, 2011)
• Gender
� decreasing the gap between male and female employment - boost GDP by 11% (Goldman Sachs, 2009)
� 6% increase of women in the paid workforce will expand the Australian economy by $25 billion a year ( Grattan Institute, 2012)
• LGBTI
� Increase competition for talent, minimise attrition costs, facilitate wider access to allied consumer markets.
� Reduce adverse discrimination, minimize labor costs of litigation, complaint resolution, absenteeism and staff turnover.
ALC Diversity & Inclusion Summit
3
Women and the business case
Figure 2- Australian pay gap analysis based on weekly earningsWorkplace Gender Equality Agency: Gender pay gap statistics (2015)
Guidelines for Indigenous employment
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/stories/guidelines-help-employers-create-opportunities-indigenous-staff
Resources for employers
Good practice, good business
Online factsheets on issues including:
• steps to creating a fair and productive workplace
• federal, state and territory discrimination laws
• vicarious liability
• recruitment and selection
• developing an internal complaints process.
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/employers/good-practice-good-business-factsheets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwfbvQTtUPA
Male Champions of Change: Domestic and family violence
Leading for Change:
A blueprint for cultural diversity & inclusive
leadership 2016
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/publications/leading-change-blueprint-cultural-diversity-and-inclusive
Supporting working parents
https://www.supportingworkingparents.gov.au/
ALC Diversity & Inclusion Summit
4
Women in male-
dominated
industries:
A Toolkit of Strategies
2013
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/women-male-dominated-industries-toolkit-strategies-2013
Willing to Work
Good practice examples:
A resource for employers
2016
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/projects/willing-work-national-inquiry-employment-discrimination-against
Domestic & family violence: a workplace issue
Workplace Cultural Diversity Tool
https://culturaldiversity.humanrights.gov.au/
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/employers/join-network
To join the network: