ALC Diversity & Inclusion Summit

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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

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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

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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/

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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: