Inclusion & Diversity Report Australia December 2023
→ The Power of Commitment
We're a people-powered business At GHD, we strive for a culture of belonging and trust where all our people can thrive. Our commitment to Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) is to foster an environment of belonging and trust where everyone can be their authentic selves, engage, be heard, and feel valued in a community that enables them to reach their potential and thrive. Our people are as unique as the communities we serve across five continents. Embracing diversity of identity, thought, background and experience helps us develop imaginative and responsive solutions for our clients that create lasting community benefit.
Our approach encompasses all elements of diversity, acknowledging all individuals are unique. This includes factors such as educational background, thinking and leadership styles, culture, sexual orientation and gender identity, age, disability, neurodiversity, Reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and flexible working arrangements. We have bold aspirations to be a leading employer for I&D in our industry, and we are continuously striving to do better. Our commitment to I&D focuses on what greater inclusion can unlock for our people, our clients and our industry.
Table of contents Introduction
2
Message from GHD’s Executive General Manager - Australia
5
The diversity of who we are and what we do
6
Gender
8
Indigenous
10
LGBTQIA+
12
Cultural identity
14
Generational
16
Disability & accessibility inclusion
17
Neurodiversity
17
National industry recognition highlights
18
What our partners say
19
© GHD 2023 This document is and shall remain the property of GHD. The document may only be used for the purpose for which it was commissioned and in accordance with the Terms of Engagement for the commission. Unauthorised use of this document in any form whatsoever is prohibited.
A message from our Executive General Manager - Australia As Executive General Manager of GHD’s Australia Business, I have the privilege of regularly connecting with many of our people, as well as representatives from our external partners, who consistently demonstrate remarkable passion and resilience in championing inclusion and diversity. A highlight for me this year was the opportunity to join with many of my GHD colleagues at our inaugural inperson APAC Inclusion & Diversity summit in Brisbane. While GHD has had a longstanding commitment to I&D, it's rare that we enjoy such an opportunity to come together from across Asia Pacific to share stories, reflect and ultimately build on our strong foundations in this space. One of the key drivers of the summit was to consider how we can each apply a lens of inclusion and diversity in everything we do. As a leader in our Business, I recognise the important role I play in nurturing and building on my own knowledge, as well as seeking ways to advocate more visibly for I&D, both within GHD and in connection with our industry. Currently I do this in several ways - as a member of the Champions of Change Coalition for gender equality, as a sponsor in the amazing Cultivate female sponsorship program, as Chair of GHD's Inclusion & Diversity Committee in Australia, and as Executive Sponsor of our Neurodiversity Employee Resource Group. More recently I'm delighted to have become a member of GHD's Global I&D Council, and I'm looking forward to this opportunity to connect and share at an Enterprise level. For me, such roles are a powerful reminder of just how much there is to learn and improve in our ability to relate to and support a diverse range of people and perspectives. There are always opportunities to do more. At GHD we acknowledge that the experiences and sense of belonging vary across our people, particularly for those who are underrepresented in our workforce. We can’t lose sight of the importance that all our people should feel a sense of belonging and what greater inclusion can unlock. Instilling a greater sense of belonging and trust is something we can all contribute to – and in very tangible, practical ways, as this report demonstrates. Our ongoing journey requires an unwavering commitment, open minds and deep curiousity. Everyone at GHD can be rightfully proud of the progress we've made to build and maintain an inclusive culture, a culture of belonging where we all feel we can be our authentic selves without being judged other than on the quality of our work. It's vital that we continue our focus on inclusion, which includes maintaining a culture with no tolerance of gender-based harassment and discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying. Thank you again for sharing and contributing to GHD's ongoing commitment to I&D. I look forward to your continued support, and I hope you enjoy reading about our recent achievements in our 2023 Inclusion & Diversity Annual Report.
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“Instilling a greater sense of belonging and trust is something we can all contribute to – and in very tangible, practical ways.”
Dean McIntyre Executive General Manager - Australia Endorsed by Coralee Fitzgibbon, I&D Leader APAC and Ian Fraser, CEO APAC.
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The diversity of who we are and what we do Our people are as unique as the communities we serve across five continents. Embracing diversity helps us develop imaginative and responsive solutions for our clients that create lasting community benefit. We aim to achieve our I&D commitment through our ‘ABC’ pillars: –
– –
Attract: Hire and retain talent with diverse perspectives, identities, experiences, and backgrounds, representing the communities we serve. Build: Build inclusive teams, communities, and an overall culture of belonging where all our people can be their authentic self and thrive. Commit: Accountability individually and collectively for I&D. We commit to routinely evaluate and adjust systems, processes, and policies to provide more equitable opportunities for our people.
Progressing I&D Our I&D strategy is led by Sadaf Parvaiz, Global Enterprise I&D Leader and Coralee Fitzgibbon, I&D Leader for APAC. They are backed by a Global I&D Council, as well as an Australian I&D Committee, chaired by Dean McIntyre, EGM – Australia. Both groups are made up of a diverse mix of people across GHD who meet monthly or bi-monthly to drive an ongoing discussion about ways to improve our inclusive culture. As well as strategic leadership, our five Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) in Australia have been key to fostering an inclusive workplace, and resulted in a growing network of mentors, champions and allies across GHD globally. Inaugural APAC I&D Summit In 2023, we held our first in-person APAC I&D summit, which brought together 70+ leaders, ERG executive sponsors, People team members, ERG members, and a host of others involved in various I&D initiatives from Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. Attendees joined forces in Brisbane, Australia to ‘Activate, Integrate & Celebrate’ to build on our strong foundations and further embed and integrate our efforts - so that everyone at GHD knows why and how to apply a lens of I&D to their everyday work.
A highlight of the Summit for me was learning more about other cultures through the Welcome to Country and learning moments from Māori and the Philippines. The presence of our leaders at the Summit confirmed the high value placed on I&D at GHD. The opportunity to connect with colleagues who share the same passion in continuing to improve our culture through I&D was a unique experience.
LGBTQIA+ inclusion Our Pride Alliance Action Plan 2023-2025 outlines specific actions we have committed to, to achieve our aspirations for LGBTQIA+ inclusion. Progressing gender We have continued to make progress against gender targets, introduced new measures to achieve pay equity, revised our Parental Leave Policy to allow even more flexibility, received the Australia Breastfeeding Association Friendly Workplace Accreditation and renewed our annual Career Relaunch Program to welcome people back to work after a career break. Reconciliation We are committed to building on our understanding and deep respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures as outlined in our second Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Flexible and remote working Our Hybrid/Remote Work Policy helps foster a work environment focused on wellbeing, flexibility and productivity. In 2023, we introduced a new Global International Remote Work People Policy (GIRWPP) to allow our people to request to temporarily work remotely from countries they are traveling to whilst on annual leave if they also hold work rights for that geography. Generational diversity We embrace and celebrate people from a wide range of ages and life stages, and our Young Professionals Network continues to provide a platform to help early career professionals build strong working relationships with peers and clients. Embracing neurodiversity We enhanced our focus on neurodiversity by strengthening our Neurodiversity ERG to support, empower and celebrate neurodivergent employees across GHD in Australia, and to increase awareness, connections and opportunities that come with having a diverse workforce. Through our partnership with Neurodiversity Hub, we support and provide employment opportunities for neurodiverse people. We also partnered with Autism@Work to run training for our People teams. Diverse abilities/disabilities Our cross-functional enterprise-wide accessibility working group prioritised four main workstreams to create a more accessible environment which fosters a culture of disability inclusion within GHD, with our clients, and communities, and are working on implementing priority recommendations. We were named in the 2023 Best Places to Work at the Disability Inclusion Awards by our global partner Disability:IN. 6
5K+ 85
people from approx.
different countries
36.5% female 63.5% male 0.2% have identified themselves as trans, non-binary, intersex or other
People taking parental leave
Since 2010, we’ve hosted
146
Instances Male
45%
Female
55%
Indigenous internships through our partnership with CareerTrackers
Proportion of hours Male
55%
Female
45%
Age composition of our workforce
<25 11%
26-30 15%
31-40
28%
41-50 24%
51-60 15%
60+ 7%
This report includes Australia Business data as at 1 September 2023
Gender
Our pursuit of gender equity in a traditionally male majority industry has progressed since 2014 when female employee targets were first set. We have enhanced the way we monitor our Australian progress toward achieving these goals and adjust as necessary to ensure that we remain on track. GHD’s 2030 gender diversity goals are: Executive (Target ≥40%) 30% Leader (Target ≥40%) 24% Snr Professional (Target ≥40%) 27% Professional (Target ≥40%) 45% Entry (Target ≥40%) 46% Parental leave and return to work Our Parental Leave Policy supports our people before, during and after periods of parental leave by providing time off work to care for their child, and by encouraging them to return to work at GHD when they are ready. We offer 12 weeks of GHD Paid Parental Leave to all employees in Australia, regardless of gender or carer status and a total of 18 weeks of paid superannuation for those who take the 12 weeks GHD Paid Parental Leave. There is no qualifying period or minimum tenure to access leave under our Parental Leave Policy. We also offer flexibility in how our people can take paid parental leave, such as half pay over 24 weeks, and we support employees who want to combine work and paid parental leave with a minimum of two working days per week. This year we also made updates to remove the requirement for an employee’s partner to return to work for an employee to be eligible for paid parental leave. Our policy includes all circumstances where there is a new baby, such as same sex partners, surrogacy or adoption. And to make the return-to-work transition easier, our people are encouraged to adopt flexible working practices. International Women’s Day We celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) 2023 in line with the theme #EmbraceEquity – we can all truly embrace equity. Our people around the world embraced our similarities and our differences to create more equitable outcomes for our people, suppliers and clients. “When we advance equity, we also support GHD’s commitment to create lasting community benefit,” Sonia Adams, Chief Client Officer shares. “Through celebrating IWD, we are empowering our people to drive toward the superior outcomes that diverse teams naturally deliver and joining with our clients as champions of equity in the many industries and communities we serve. We can move from feeling compelled to do what’s right to just doing what's better for us all.”
Women in GHD (WinG) ERG Our WinG network empowers women by providing a platform to connect through initiatives that inspire personal and professional growth, and helps our people foster a culture of gender equity and inclusion. Over the past 12 months, we have witnessed a notable transformation and expansion in the empowerment of women at GHD through WinG-led initiatives across Australia, including: – – –
Addressing period equity by supplying period products in every women's bathroom. Addressing career financial equity by offering regionbased GHD shareholder briefings for women. Addressing STEM workforce demand through several activities across our regions including the expansion of our STEM pathways program in Victoria, hosting an International Day of Women & Girls in Science workshop in our Sydney office and continuing relationships with all-girls schools in South Australia to promote professional services and the varied career opportunities available.
Championing breastfeeding in the workplace In 2023, for the third year in a row we’ve received the Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Accreditation from the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA). We have also been awarded the Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Best Practice standard by ABA. Supporting individuals to breastfeed or express milk during working hours helps enable equal and full participation in the workforce for pregnant and breastfeeding employees. Pay equity We’re committed to achieving pay equity – this is central to our reward culture at GHD. We have tools that help us assess and maintain pay equity such as a subscription to Syndio, an online pay equity analysis platform which provides pay equity consulting and regression analysis to allow us to understand what factors are driving pay differences. The system analyses pay equity at an Australiawide level, comparing people in like for like roles across base salary and total compensation. It also analyses at the individual level by calculating predicted pay. We run pay equity analyses twice yearly in line with our salary review cycle. Women in Rail We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive culture and expanding opportunities for women within the rail industry. We have an active Women in Rail group that convenes monthly to network, drive initiatives based on wider organisational discussions. GHD’s Women in Rail report, published in November 2023, explores women's representation in the rail industry and how Australian rail businesses can work together to accelerate opportunities for women. The report highlights the experiences of women working in rail and identifies many of the barriers to increasing diversity across the sector and – importantly – provides recommendations for how we can make the rail sector more appealing and inclusive to
Career Relaunch Program Our Career Relaunch Program encourages and welcomes professionals back into the workforce after an extended career break – most commonly women who have taken a break for parental responsibilities. The 10-week, paid, flexible program was a first for our industry when launched in 2017 – and is now an annual program offered Australia-wide.
144 85%
Career Relaunch participants since 2017
offered ongoing roles at GHD
→ Read some real Career Relaunch stories here.
potential candidates, key to delivering the ambitious program of rail infrastructure investment over the next five years and beyond. Rebecca Want, Market Leader Transport for our Sydney region was a panelist at Engineers Australia’s "On the track" event, a panel discussion focused on unlocking opportunities for young professionals in the rail industry. Rebecca shared her unique experiences and learnings having started as graduate engineer in rail and working in roles across the industry over the last 28 years.
Addendum to Global Harassment Policy At GHD we aim to provide a safe and enjoyable workplace for all of our people, one that is free from discrimination, harassment and bullying. We will not tolerate any form of bullying, harassment and discrimination in the workplace in any way. Recently in Australia important changes have been made to the Sex Discrimination Act 1994 and the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 to provide better protection for workers. This includes placing greater responsibility on employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate workplace sexual harassment, victimisation, and sex discrimination as much as possible. As such we recently published an Addendum to our Global Harassment Policy for Australia specifically. We will continue to review and promote our workplace behaviour policies as part of our efforts to provide a solid platform for gender equality. Promoting women in STEM As part of the University of Newcastle’s HunterWiSE program, which we have been involved with since 2017, this year we welcomed 19 students from Merewether High School and their teacher along with mentors from the University into our Newcastle office. The students experienced a 'day in the life' of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professional, got engaged in a YP panel session on the passion behind pursuing a STEM career, and participated in a range of handson activities in four discipines. Our people also facilitated a site visit to Merewether Baths. We also ran our annual GHD STEM Pathways program in Victoria for the seventh time. This year we extended our reach to regional Victoria with students participating in Geelong and four students participating in Albury-Wodonga.
Cultivate Sponsorship Program A cohort of nine GHD women participated in our female sponsorship program with Cultivate in 2022 – our fourth year running the program. The sevenmonth program gives business leaders the tools to build strategic alliances with women and matches future leader participants with sponsors from our leadership teams to break systematic barriers. Amplifying the benefits of gender equality We see gender equality as a critical part of being an effective consultancy firm and an employer of choice. As a member of the Consult Australia Champions of Change, it’s a message our EGM Dean McIntyre is keen to amplify: “The diversity aspect is very important, but we also recognise that everyone is impacted by gender inequality – women, men, trans and gender diverse people, children and families. It impacts people of all ages and backgrounds. For all these reasons and more, achieving and maintaining gender equality at GHD is an important part of our commitment to inclusion.” 9
Indigenous At GHD, we’re continually focused on building on our understanding and deep respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Over the past 12 months, we’ve maintained our focus on the following areas: – – – – –
Indigenous employment and career development Indigenous business relationships, procurement and partnerships Reconciliation and Indigenous cultural awareness Indigenous participation in our projects Indigenous community engagement
Indigenous employment In 2021, we created an ambitious target to increase our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment to 2.5% of our Australian workforce in 2023. While we’re working towards this overall milestone, we are proud to note that our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce has increased by more than 30% since 2021. Internal Indigenous Network Our Internal Indigenous Network was established to connect our Indigenous employees across our regions, as it continues to grow it has created a strong community where our Indigenous employees can engage with each other and stay updated on broader reconciliation initiatives at GHD. The network is currently made up of 52 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and welcomes new members as they join GHD. In March 2023, GHD’s Chair Rob Knott presented in the network’s monthly meeting about shareholding at GHD, recognising the importance of professional development and successful careers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees. The network had the opportunity to pose questions to Rob on the process of shareholding and what support is provided to shareholder applicants. GHD continues to create opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across our organisation to success and progress their careers. CareerTrackers Internship Program As a proud partner of CareerTrackers since its inception in 2010, and a 10x10 partner since 2015, GHD continues to grow their commitment to the program year on year. Over the past 12 months, we have hosted 26 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university internships through the CareerTrackers Program. Over the 2023/2024 internship period, we will again welcome returning and new interns into our offices across Australia. Throughout our continued partnership with CareerTrackers, we have hosted a total of 146 Indigenous internships and evolved our approach to intern placement, recently leveraging regional offices on a greater scale to allow students to work with us while remaining connected to their families and communities. We are passionate about contributing to the development of the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander talent pipeline by creating opportunities and welcoming and nurturing students regardless of whether they see
themselves having a long-term future at GHD. We adopt the philosophy of shaping roles to fit students and encourage our business to welcome students across several different fields of university study. GO Foundation Last year we announced the extension of our partnership with the GO Foundation through to 2026. Since this announcement, we have participated in GO Foundation’s Big Lunch in Adelaide and Sydney, raising funds to support GO Foundation scholarships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students as they complete their education. We also attended Cultural Connection Days in Canberra and Sydney and continue to find new ways to support the partnership. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mathematics Alliance We announced a new partnership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mathematics Alliance (ATSIMA) in November 2022, continuing our commitment to improving equity in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education and employment. Our grant will support ATSIMA to develop and implement a suite of resources for students up to year 10 which are aligned to the new Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. The materials will empower teachers with culturally responsive content that connects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. GHD Ironman athletes raise $30k for Indigenous scholarships In May, a team of GHD people alongside a matched donation from the GHD Foundation raised $30,000 to provide two Indigenous students scholarships to support their studies at the University of Newcastle. Thirteen people from our Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Central Coast and Sydney offices came together to participate in the Ironman competition held in Port Macquarie, New South Wales after powering through more than 600 hours of training in preparation for the main event.
When we got the team together for the Port Macquarie Ironman, our fundraising goal was $12,000 – enough to fully fund one scholarship for an Indigenous student. I’m proud to say we have already gone beyond that amount, and thanks to the GHD Foundation, this initiative has helped support two Indigenous students’ undergraduate education. – Michael Ulph, Ironman, Technical Director Communications & Stakeholder Engagement, Northern New South Wales RAP Champion and coordinator of the GHD Ironman team
Procurement and partnerships GHD is committed to increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supplier diversity to support improved economic and social outcomes by increasing our total annual spend with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses by 25% each financial year. In the 2021 Financial Year GHD purchased goods and services from 60 Indigenous enterprises with a spend of $1.2 million. In 2022, we improved and increased our Indigenous supply chain and doubled our spend with Indigenous Enterprises to $2.4 million across 89 organisations. In July, we celebrated our highest Indigenous procurement spend to date for the 2023 financial year, purchasing goods and services from 119 Indigenous-owned businesses to a total spend of AUD4.3million.
$4.3m
spent on 119 Indigenous-owned businesses in the 2022/23 Financial Year
National Reconciliation Week celebrations To celebrate National Reconciliation Week, we hosted 12 internal events across our regions including panel events, morning teas, lunches and virtual film screenings. In Tasmania, more than 75 GHD people and their family members had the opportunity to immerse themselves in local palawa culture, learn through storytelling, share food and experiences, and understand shared histories through the power of being on Country. Our people joined wayti Culture and Knowledge led by palawa Elder Uncle Rodney Dillon and his daughter Bronwyn Dillon at Murrayfield, an Aboriginal-owned property on Bruny Island. NAIDOC Week For the second year running, GHD worked with Indigenous-owned conferencing company Message Stick to host a hybrid panel discussion celebrating #NAIDOC2023. More than 500 GHD people joined to hear from members of our Internal Indigenous Network about what this year’s theme #ForOurElders means to them.
To support this success, we’ve maintained our partnership with Supply Nation and in 2022, we entered a five-year Strategic Relationship Agreement with the Indigenous Defence & Infrastructure Consortium (iDiC). Cultural Awareness Training We set a goal to have 70% of our Australian employees increase their understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures by completing our online Cultural Awareness Training created with Corporate Culcha. We have exceeded that target and to date, more than 80% of our Australian workforce have completed the training. To celebrate, we rolled out a national reward program including merchandise featuring our RAP artwork created by Noongar artist Tyrown Waigana.
Our Reconciliation journey Our second Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) launched in October 2021. We are on track to complete the actions outlined by mid-2024. We are committed to providing opportunities for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to connect and celebrate their cultures through the Internal Indigenous Network, National Reconciliation Week (NRW) and NAIDOC Week events. In 2021, we launched our Indigenous Cultural Leave Policy, providing eligible full-time and part-time employees with access to an additional two days paid cultural leave to attend culturally significant activities such as Sorry Business, extended family responsibilities or NAIDOC Week celebrations.
We also recognise the need to provide learning opportunities, this includes improved training for all employees on issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples including racism and the importance of truth telling. As part of our RAP, we conducted a review of performance management, career development and recruitment programs and processes to allow for better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees. We are now in the process of consulting with our Internal Indigenous Network to better inform these outcomes. As we continue on our reconciliation journey, we will take a number of key learnings from our second Innovate RAP in order to evolve our approach to reconciliation as we prepare for our next RAP.
→ View our Innovate RAP.
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LGBTQIA+
To us, LGBTQIA+ inclusion means continuing to support and promote a workplace where our people feel comfortable and empowered regardless of their sexual orientations, sex characteristics, gender identities or gender expressions. We want to be an organisation that facilitates more productive and connected teams that value each other’s differences across the spectrums of LGBTQIA+ through education, resources, policy and ongoing support. We established a National Pride Alliance ERG in 2016, and this group is supported by Champions in each of our regions, a growing network of more than 230 allies across Australia and has the support of an executive sponsor from our Australian Leadership Team (ALT) – Cara Kuramoto, Australian People Leader
230+
GHD LGBTQIA+ allies and counting Our Pride Alliance Action Plan Our Pride Alliance Action Plan (2023 to 2025) details our commitments to support and promote LGBTQIA+ inclusion. The plan features stories about our people, initiatives and a comprehensive list of actions, which fall into three key areas – systems, culture and leadership. There is also a useful glossary of common LGBTQIA+ terms at the back of the plan. Since it was first published in 2022, we have achieved a number of actions such as the development of an eLearning module, partnering with a not-for-profit organisation and an improved induction process for new allies. → View our Pride Alliance Action Plan here.
Working together with Pride in Diversity We’re a long-term member of Pride in Diversity (PiD), Australia’s first and only not-for-profit employer support program for LGBTQIA+ workplace inclusion specialising in HR, organisational change and workplace diversity. PiD helps guide and steer our LGBTQIA+ inclusion awareness training, enablement, policy change and initiative roll out and helped us develop our LGBTQIA+ eLearning module. Through PiD, we also participate in a range of forums with other member organisations. Pride Month, IDAHOBIT, Wear it Purple We continue to mark important LGBTQIA+ days including International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT), World Pride Month and Wear It Purple Day. On 17 May we marked IDAHOBIT as an opportunity to raise awareness for the work still needed to combat discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people. We hosted a national virtual panel event which discussed lived experiences as an openly transgender person as well as psychological safety in the workplace, pronouns, what acceptance looks like in the workplace and allyship.
LGBTQIA+ eLearning module We launched a new eLearning module in 2022 that focuses on LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the workplace. This module is a first of its kind for our Australia Business, and it was developed with our partner, Pride in Diversity. The module is designed for all GHD employees in Australia and aims to help them better understand LGBTQIA+ people and communities. By completing this course, people can expect to gain a better understanding of the lived experience of LGBTQIA+ people, be able to describe the difference between gender and sexuality, understand the impact of discrimination and the importance of acceptance, and know more about applying best practice to contribute to an LGBTQIA+ inclusive workplace.
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“I completed the eLearning and thought it was an excellent overview to help our people gain a better understanding of the lived experience of LGBTQIA+ people.
It ensures that everyone has the opportunity to learn about who we are and aren’t, the impact of the discrimination we face in society, and how to further contribute to building an inclusive workplace. In particular, the section where participants are invited to reflect on their own identities really helps bridge a gap in understanding gender diversity.” Dani Campbell Senior Electrical Engineer and member of our Australian I&D Committee and Pride Alliance ERG
Pronouns We have the option to include pronouns in our official GHD email signatures and business cards, and on our online Microsoft Teams profiles so that our people can indicate their gender identity and pronouns. This supports an inclusive environment, reducing the likelihood of assumptions being made based on name alone. It also supports those using pronouns outside of the gender binary, normalising pronoun use. Benchmarking GHD continues to participate in the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI), a widely recognised national benchmark on LGBTQ workplace inclusion. We use AWEI as a robust framework to help guide our LGBTQIA+ activities and inclusion commitment. In 2023 we maintained our Bronze status and are working on achieving Silver status through an advanced submission.
From dream to reality: a different road to becoming a parent
The journey to have a child can be an emotional rollercoaster for any parent-to-be. For Callum Bryan-Mathieson, Sydney Team Lead for Landscape Architecture & Urban Design and his partner Clinton, their journey began with plenty of excitement and energy. Now they have a family of five after welcoming three children (now 3, 5 and 7), each via altruistic surrogacy and egg donation. Callum kindly shared some insights on his experiences of becoming a parent with us.
→ Read Callum's surrogacy story.
Cultural identity We’re committed to fostering a culturally safe, diverse and inclusive workplace. We continue to employ people from many different cultural backgrounds while promoting harmony and respect in the workplace. People currently working in our Australia Business have told us they were born across approximately 85 countries. A majority were born in Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Iran, South Africa and the Philippines.
Asylum seekers and refugees GHD is a founding partner of CareerSeekers – a non-profit organisation which creates employment opportunities for asylum seekers and refugees, many of whom have held professional careers in their country of origin. The CareerSeekers internship program is similar to our existing partnership with sister organisation CareerTrackers, which focuses on Indigenous Australians. Since 2016 we have welcomed 81 CareerSeekers interns across our offices in Australia from high, mid, graduate and student career levels. Internships are initially three months long and can often lead to permanent professional opportunities within or outside of GHD. We currently have 38 CareerSeekers who have transitioned into permanent part-time or full-time employment nationally. The interns, originally from Afghanistan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon, Rwanda, Syria and Yemen, have contributed to our Engineering (Transport, Water, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical), Project Management, Environmental Science, Geology,
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Business Services (Finance, Administration, Information Technology, Marketing) and Data Analysis teams.
81 47%
CareerSeekers interns since 2016
Preparing CareerSeekers for the workplace GHD hosted a two-day training event in Sydney for CareerSeekers participants designed to prepare the refugees and asylum seekers for the Australian workforce. The 30 participants learned new interview skills and received cultural awareness training, they also shared their eagerness to learn, contribute and re-start their professional careers in Australia. The session was run by four CareerSeekers employees and supported by 16 GHD volunteers.
are still part of GHD today
Work Readiness Training Program We once again hosted a group of CareerSeekers for one week of the CareerSeekers Work Readiness Training in in our Melbourne office. All CareerSeekers interns are required to undertake this training before they undertake internships with employer partners. The Work Readiness Training provides participants with practical insights into what to expect while working in Australia, exploring cultural differences and workshopping real life work scenarios and facilitating mock interviews to help prepare participants for their internships and set them up for success. As part of this, GHD volunteers supported through mock interviews for both mid-career professionals and students, presented and assisted with the workshops.
On a global scale, GHD is one of the only organisations to be involved with all the CareerSeekers and CareerTrackers sister organisations: InRoads (USA and Canada), CareerTrackers PNG (Papua New Guinea) and TupaToa (New Zealand).
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“Fleeing Iraq and seeking refuge in a strange new country was a challenging experience. When I came to Australia, it was important to me to stay connected to the civil engineering field. Through the CareerSeekers program, I joined GHD’s Sydney Roads team as an engineer. I will always be grateful to GHD for being so supportive and inclusive, especially to mid-career professionals from refugee and humanitarian backgrounds like myself.” Fadi Keasou Civil Engineer and 2022 CareerSeekers intern
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Generational Australians are increasingly working later in life, and the demographic structure of our workforce is continually changing. For the first time in history, five generations are working alongside each other.
Generational inclusion at GHD includes understanding the career journey of employees and achieving positive outcomes through initiatives that support the collaboration and contribution of people at all ages.
Global Graduate Development Program We refreshed our graduate program to create a globally aligned, structured development program balanced with a blend of experiential learning, coaching and training that will develop our graduates as future problem solvers and leaders. As part of the program, we welcomed 281 GHD graduates to more than 24 of our offices in Australia in 2023. Young Professionals We are focused on connecting and developing our future leaders through our Young Professionals (YP) networking groups. Our YP program provides a strong support network for our early career professionals and opportunities for them to participate in a range of professional development activities. Active in every state, our YP groups help our people build strong working relationships with their peers and clients. The YP program brings together people with less than 10 years of professional experience from various disciplines to assist in developing skills.
The 40+ YPs in our Adelaide office attended a networking event where they could connect while showcasing their pool skills. The room was filled with enthusiasm as a diverse group of colleagues from different business groups united in friendly competition.
Case Study: Graduate succession planning Sony Panicker, Dams Engineer, was one of 16 GHD presenters at the 2023 ANCOLD Conference in Cairns, he presented a paper entitled ‘Graduate Succession Planning in the Dams Industry – A Young Professional (YP) perspective’. The paper notes that dams industry is facing many challenges, including the need to transfer knowledge from experienced employees to the next generation and the need to retain employees. Using GHD’s South-East Queensland’s Dams Group as a Case Study for his paper, Sony illustrates the key focus areas for an overall graduate successionn strategy: Capability Mapping, Team Workshopping and Initiative Implementation. Sony concludes, “The intentional engagement of YPs in the succession planning process ensures that the potential challenges posed by key personnel transitions, changes in technological capabilities and knowledge transfer to the next generation of dams engineers can begin to be tackled.”
Disability & accessibility inclusion As a next step in our I&D journey, a cross-functional global accessibility working group (AWG) made up of our people was formed in 2022 to help create a more accessible environment which fosters a culture of disability inclusion within GHD, our clients and our communities. The AWG representatives are from across the globe and have been meeting with stakeholders to identify and prioritise disability inclusion challenges that people may face within GHD. We are focused on four key areas, related to disability inclusion: 1. Physical space – audit assessments and accommodation strategies 2. Digital accessibility – compliance checks and development of accessibility guides 3. People policies – creation of partnerships for access to talent and training, and inclusive hiring practices 4. Learning and development – learning content inclusive of all abilities and needs
Our key accessibility themes We identified five themes which underpin our four key focus areas related to disability inclusion: 1. Talent acquisition 2. Learning and development 3. People policies 4. Information technology 5. Physical-space accessibility Partnering with Disability:IN In December 2022, our CEO Ashley Wright signed the Disability:IN ‘CEO Letter on Disability Inclusion’, which is designed for CEOs to take action to build inclusive, accessible, and equitable workplaces through their company’s participation in the Disability Equality Index. The partnership with Disability:IN will provide resources and expertise as we continue to expand opportunities at GHD for people with disabilities. We were named in the 2023 Best Places to Work at the Disability Inclusion awards by Disability:IN. → Read more about our partnership here. 2023 Melbourne Corporate Triathlon The 2023 Melbourne Corporate Triathlon saw 31 of our people participate. One of the participants was Dave Ball, Senior Civil Engineer, who was part of a team of three competing solely in the 10km cycle. Having been paralysed for the last 29 years, this event was a chance for Dave to use his first proper hand cycle, improve his fitness and to have some fun with colleagues along the way.
Neurodiversity We recognise that there are many talented neurodivergent individuals who struggle to join the workforce. Neurodiverse individuals include those with neurological differences such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and tics. Through our partnership with Neurodiversity Hub, we support and provide employment opportunities for neurodiverse people. In 2020 we established a Neurodiversity Employee Reference Group (ERG), with the mission of supporting, empowering and celebrating neurodiversity at GHD by increasing awareness. In 2023 our Australia People team attended a 1.5 hour ‘Introduction to neurodiversity’ training session that provided a robust overview of neurodiversity. The team was then split into two groups for more detailed training: –
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People Business Partners and Regional People Leaders completed the ‘Inclusive employment practices, managing neurodiverse employees’ session The Talent Acquisition Team completed the ‘Inclusive recruitment practices’ session
2023 also saw the refresh of our internal Neurodiversity iConnect site with additional neurodiversity related resources, guidelines and I&D shareable slides.
Different, but not difficult That was the sentiment and one of the key messages from the recent Autism@Work Summit organised by Autism CRC. Autistic people may have different ways of working, such as having a desire for consistent schedule, sensory sensitivities, atypical communication or needing a quiet workspace. But, in today’s flexible workplace, these differences aren’t difficult to accommodate. And those on the autism spectrum can bring valuable strengths to a workplace, including (but not limited to) understanding complex systems, impressive subject-matter expertise, strong focus on tasks, reliability, and loyalty. Autism is a neurodivergent condition that affects how a person thinks, feels, interacts with others, and experiences their environment. With the United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Day on 2 April, Summit presenters Laura Trotta, Imogen Bird and Joel Clark recently shared some insights from the sessions they were involved with at the Summit. Imogen and Laura are members of GHD’s Neurodiversity Employee Resource Group, while Joel Clark is an autistic Engineering Intern in our South Australian Transport and Civil Engineering team.
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What our partners say
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National industry recognition highlights WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020-2022, 2022-2024 2023 CoreNet Global Australia REawards Diversity & Inclusion Excellence – 2023 Women in Digital Employer of the Year – Finalist 2023 Digital Transformation Leader of the Year Finalist, Vinojini Nair, GHD Digital – Finalist 2023 Disability:IN Named in the 2023 Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion – 2023 National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) National Presidents Choice Award, Dr Kerry Neil – 2022 SA Business Professional Award, Dr Kerry Neil – 2022 SA Crystal Vision Award, Emily Petrov – 2022
Property Council of Australia Award for Diversity > 250 employees – Finalist 2017 and 2020, winner 2022 Australasian Rail Association Workforce Diversity Award – Winner 2021, finalist 2022 Australian Breastfeeding Association Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Accreditation – 2021, 2022, 2023 Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Best Practice standard – 2022-2023 Engineers Australia Most Outstanding Company in Gender Diversity – Highly commended 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020 Australian Workplace Equality Index Bronze Employer 2018 Employee Ownership Australia Fostering Long Term Share Ownership – Winner 2020
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Since 2016 GHD has been a proud member of Pride in Diversity. Over the years Pride in Diversity has had the privilege of providing significant consulting and inclusion advice to GHD, and PiD is proud to be associated with GHD and its team who are very visible in their support for LGBTQIA+ workplace inclusion, from the launch of their first LGBTQIA+ Action Plan and growing their ‘Allies Network’. GHD is committed to ensuring every LGBTQIA+ team member can bring their whole self to work. - Chloe Bonnar, Pride in Diversity Relationship Manager In partnership with CareerSeekers, GHD has continued to deliver professional employment opportunities for people who have come to Australia as refugees and asylum seekers, helping to address the chronic unemployment and underemployment faced by refugees even with skills, qualifications and expertise. GHD’s commitment is practical, genuine and significant, while the curious and learning mindset of GHD employees make an internship with GHD highly sought after. - John Gelagin, CEO, CareerSeekers
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GHD is committed to advancing its female employees into leadership roles through engaging with our Cultivate Sponsorship Program. GHD’s active participation helps foster strategic alliances to promote women’s career progression and highlights a readiness to tackle gender inequality. - Katriina Tahka, Co-founder, Cultivate Sponsorship
The GO Foundation has been privileged to work with the wonderful people at GHD for the past six years and are proud to say we have a solid partnership well into the future. GHD works closely with GO to understand the support they can provide to GO students, including showcasing the variety of career opportunities available at GHD. GHD has welcomed GO students as interns and employees and more recently, opened their doors and hosted one of our newest initiatives, a Leadership Day for Sydney based year 5 and 6 GO students. The GO team look forward to seeing what more we can achieve together through our partnership to empower GO students through education. - Charlene Davison, GO Foundation CEO 19
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ghd.com/inclusionAU