Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Plan – 2023 to 2026

Our people

Diversity profile

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Developing our plan

This plan aligns with our strategic objective of a positive and supportive organisational culture underpinned by strong values. It has been developed to ensure we attract, develop and retain the diverse workforce we need to achieve both our short and long-term goals.

The plan considers diversity and inclusion in relation to the following diversity groups:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• Culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) people
• People with disability
• Youth
• Women
• People of diverse sexualities and genders

It also recognises the ways different aspects of a person’s identity can expose them to overlapping forms of discrimination and marginalisation and amplify barriers to employment. As such, many of the initiatives in this plan are designed to work across the different diversity groups.

In developing this plan, we:

1. Considered our responsibilities under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984
2. Reviewed our previous Workforce Diversity Plan, Disability Access and Inclusion Plan, Multicultural Action Plan, Reconciliation Action Plan and the Workforce Diversification and Inclusion Strategy for WA Public Sector Employment 2022-2025
3. Assessed our workplace diversity using the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Workplace Cultural Diversity Tool and our workforce data to see how we are performing across diversity groups
4. Considered the research and recommendations of leading anti-discrimination and diversity and inclusion bodies such as the Australian Human Rights Commission and Diversity Council Australia
5. Consulted externally with the Office of Multicultural Interests, Pride in Diversity and Australian Network on Disability
6. Listened to GESB staff through our staff satisfaction survey, Workplace Inclusion Network and Reconciliation Working Group

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Achieving together

We all have a responsibility to contribute to a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace.

Our Executive Management Group:

• Take the lead by championing diversity and inclusion priorities for all diverse groups
• Walk the talk by modelling inclusive behaviours and get involved in initiatives
• Follow through on diversity and inclusion commitments, and hold each other to account

Our managers:

• Ask employees what support and flexibility they need to help perform their role
• Consider and balance the diverse needs of the team
• Act on diversity and inclusion commitments, and hold yourself and the team to account

All employees:

• Increase understanding by educating yourself on diversity and inclusion matters
• Respect others’ diverse opinions and expertise
• Get involved in diversity events and development opportunities

Our People and Business Services team is responsible for monitoring and reviewing this plan to ensure the initiatives remain effective in progressing towards achieving our workforce targets. The plan will be reviewed and adjusted annually to ensure it focuses on the key initiatives that support our strategic outcomes.

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Reflecting on our progress

GESB is committed to retaining and increasing representation of people from diverse backgrounds, in line with the Public Sector Commission’s aspirational targets. This plan aims to build on the achievements of our Workforce Diversity Plan 2021-2023.

The key priorities of our last plan included:

• Increasing workforce representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at all levels of our organisation
• Increasing the representation of our youth cohort
• Increasing workforce representation of people with disability at all levels
• Supporting a culture that embraces multicultural access and inclusion

Our full time equivalent (FTE) increased over the period of our last plan.

We experienced a small decrease in representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the youth cohort, and people with disability. This could be the result of having a small workforce where single movements in a diversity group can mean exceeding or not meeting our targets. We also acknowledge that the accuracy of our data relies on employees feeling comfortable to self-report their diversity background.

We experienced success in the delivery of diversity strategies which contributed to our positive workplace culture.

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Achievements

Our leadership actively endorses and promotes diversity:

• Our workforce goals are incorporated into our Statement of Corporate Intent
• Our workforce and diversity plans are published on our website
• We have increased the internal support systems for staff, including training two new grievance officers and two contact officers
• We established our Workforce Inclusion Network (WIN)
• Both our WIN and Reconciliation Working Group (RWG) include a member of the Executive Management Group (EMG)

Our staff were educated in diversity:

• People and Business Services staff attended external diversity and inclusion events such as the Australian Human Resources Institute Diversity and Inclusion conference, Office of Multicultural Interests’ networking group, and diversity training run by the Institute of Public Administration Australia
• We updated the diversity and inclusion page on our intranet and promoted this to staff
• 69 staff participated in unconscious bias training
• New staff completed online cultural awareness training on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and working with people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

Our recruitment processes were reviewed to be more inclusive:

• Our recruitment documentation is written in easy-to-understand language
• Our position descriptions have been simplified
• Our diversity statement is published on all recruitment advertising
• We advertise our jobs to broad networks

We promoted the benefits of diversity and celebrated diversity events:

• The following articles were published on our website:
  • Our latest Reconciliation Action Plan
  • Investing in an inclusive and diverse workforce 
  • GESB proud to support diverse WA communities
  • NAIDOC event creates shared experience
  • Secondment establishes meaningful connections with remote communities
  • GESB’s Jane Ots wins Australian Access Award
  • Building super pathways for regional communities
• We celebrated Harmony Day with a morning tea where staff shared stories of their own cultural backgrounds and experiences
• We developed an annual calendar of key diversity dates
• Diversity events and days of recognition were regularly promoted through email signatures and news articles posted on our intranet

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Future initiatives

GESB currently meets the WA public sector targets for women in executive management and people from CaLD backgrounds.

This plan recognises the challenges associated with having a small workforce and includes a range of initiatives designed to:

1. Retain, develop and progress employees from all diversity groups
2. Create employment opportunities to attract and recruit the following underrepresented diversity groups:

• Youth
• People with disability
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

To achieve our diversity and inclusion goals, we will focus on the following priority areas:

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Youth and young professionals

GESB has few entry-level roles which poses a challenge to improving employment outcomes for the youth cohort. Our occupational profile is made up of mostly ‘professionals’ (64.8%) and ‘managers’ (24.6%). 89.4% of our roles are classified at Level 5 (or equivalent) or above.

We will continue to aim to increase the representation of young people employed at GESB, and in the WA public sector, by identifying entry-level pathways and providing opportunities for professional development and career progression.

Achievements:

We created employment and development opportunities for young people:

• Two employees successfully completed the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees’ SuperGrads program. One of the graduates was offered a full-time position in our Investment Operations team in 2022
• Our high school trainee completed her 18-month traineeship and was offered a full-time position in our People and Business Services team in 2022
• We provided an 8-week internship opportunity for a university graduate within our Finance team in 2022

Future initiatives:

We will review our recruitment strategies, including:

• Developing a digital recruitment strategy that incorporates contemporary recruitment tools for reaching young people
• Identifying entry-level pathways such as hosting youth through traineeships, graduate, and other employment programs
• Providing opportunities for development and career progression, including:
  • Finalising our capability framework which will identify career pathways
  • Continuing to fund development and career advancement opportunities for our youth and young professionals

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

This plan is aligned to our ‘Innovate’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Our RAP aims to support our ongoing work to meet the unique needs and challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in accessing the benefits offered by superannuation providers. It outlines the key actions we will take to provide ongoing support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members and employees to drive positive change.

Achievements:

We increased our understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ cultures, histories, and rights through the following cultural learning activities:

• In 2023, our Innovate RAP received endorsement from Reconciliation Australia
• In 2022, members of our EMG, our RWG and wider GESB staff participated in the Wogga Warniny (blanket exercise), an immersive activity that involved learning about the contact history between Aboriginal peoples of WA and colonisers
• In 2021, our Key Account Manager, Brian Smith, participated in the Jawun Secondment Program. This professional development opportunity is offered to public sector staff to advance cultural awareness and understanding with a six-week secondment in an Indigenous organisation
• In 2021, 45 staff attended an Aboriginal cultural training workshop called ‘Acknowledge This!’. New employees are provided the opportunity to complete the training as part of our new starter induction process
• We contributed to improved employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples:
  • Advertised career opportunities to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander networks
  • Established a dedicated Reconciliation Policy Officer role reserved for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander staff

Future initiatives:

We will promote a work environment that contributes to the wellbeing and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, including:

• Monitoring the safety of our work environment
• Implementing a cultural learning strategy to increase the capability of staff across GESB
• Providing information to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff on accessing cultural leave
• Providing transparent communication training
• Improving employment outcomes by increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruitment, retention and professional development, including:
  • Exploring targeted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment programs such as internships, cadetships and traineeships
  • Funding development and career advancement opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff

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People with disability

This plan aligns to the desired outcomes of our Disability Access and Inclusion Plan (DAIP). Our DAIP considers the diverse needs of our members, staff and other stakeholders and highlights our ongoing commitment towards ensuring our information, tools, services and opportunities are inclusive and accessible for everyone, regardless of ability.

Achievements:

We listened to people with lived experience of disability and member organisations to help develop our understanding of the needs of people with disability:

• We partnered with the Australian Network on Disability (AND)
• Our WIN was established and includes people with lived experience of disability
• In 2023, our new DAIP was published
• We engaged AND to conduct an inclusive recruitment review of our recruitment processes

We raised staff awareness of barriers to access and inclusion:

• 44 staff attended inclusive workplaces training
• 41 staff attended mental health awareness training
• We held a staff morning tea for R U OK? Day
• We partnered with Employment Edge to provide an employment opportunity for a young person with disability
• We were recognised as accessibility leaders at the 2021 Australian Access Awards:
  • Winner: Accessibility Person of the Year (Jane Ots)
  • Nomination: Government website of the year (for our Selecting your investment plan online tool)
  • Nomination: Accessibility initiative of the year (for our Selecting your investment plan online tool)

Future initiatives:

We will continue todevelop the capability of our staff to provide quality services to people with diverse needs through targeted training, including:

• Seminar and webinar accessibility training for our Key Account Management team
• Inclusive recruitment training for recruitment panel members
• Disability confidence training for managers
• Accessible information training for relevant staff

We will continue to make our employment practices more accessible and inclusive, including:

• Updating our policies and procedures to incorporate affirmative and inclusive language
• Implementing the recommendations of AND’s inclusive recruitment review
• Reviewing the accessibility of our workplace documents prior to publication

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Multicultural access and inclusion

The desired outcomes of this plan support a workplace culture that embraces multicultural access and inclusion. It aligns to our Multicultural Access Plan (MAP) which aims to ensure that our information, tools, services and opportunities meet the needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Our MAP is an important way for us to fulfil some key initiatives outlined in this plan and to ensure that all staff have access to inclusive and flexible work practices, structures and conditions that support their professional and personal circumstances.

Our MAP is informed by the three policy priorities of the Western Australian Multicultural Policy Framework:

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Our plan

During the three-year period covered by this plan, we will undertake the following initiatives to achieve our workforce diversity and inclusion goals.

Priority 1: Culture - our workplace is a safe and respectful space where people feel valued and supported to perform at their best

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Priority 2: Talent – we attract, recruit, develop and retain people from diverse groups

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Priority 3: Achieve – responsibilities under this plan are clear, progress is measured, and successes celebrated

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1. Includes permanent, fixed term, casual employees as at 30 June 2023.
2. GESB Staff (Pulse) Survey, Research Solutions, March 2023.
3. As per Western Australian Public Sector Quarterly Workforce Report – December 2022.
4. As per aspirational targets for diversity groups in the Workforce Diversification and Inclusion Strategy for WA Public Sector Employment 2020-2025.
5. GESB refers to women in our Executive Management Group (tier 1 & 2 roles), public sector comparison refers to women in the Senior Executive Service.