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

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