Lake Macquarie City Council has launched a Diversity, Equity and Belonging Strategy that will seek to embed these important principles in the organisation’s workplace culture.
The strategy sets out a three-year roadmap to help transition the organisation from awareness and understanding of diversity, equity and belonging to fully leveraging the unique identities and strengths of its people.
Michael Theo, star of Love on the Spectrum, was invited to speak at the launch of the Lake Macquarie Council’s Diversity, Equity and Belonging Strategy in July 2023.
The key vision of the strategy is to represent the community that council serves by achieving four goals:
• An inclusive workplace culture.
• Diverse vibrant teams.
• Equitable systems and processes.
• Inclusive leadership.
“We consider the identities of our employees to be complex and evolving, and we see this as an important factor in helping people to feel like they belong and can contribute to the organisation,” council’s Manager People and Culture Sarah Chessor said.
“The strategy arose from a staff survey that asked employees about their experience of belonging at Lake Mac. It revealed that a lot of people did not engage with the concepts of diversity, equity and belonging because they didn’t consider themselves to be ‘diverse’.
“We found that fascinating because, really, everyone is diverse. Everyone has a diverse experience, a diverse background and a diverse perspective shaped by those factors – and we really wanted to get that message across.
“Bringing people together who can offer different perspectives is important because it leads to better decision-making, which ultimately means better outcomes for the community”
To support this, a Lake Mac Diversity Wheel was devised to illustrate the many factors and influences that can contribute to diversity, equity and belonging – from gender, cultural background and socio-economic status to education levels, religious beliefs and family status.
A key action from the strategy is an employee-owned and led diversity advisory group that meets regularly to identify opportunities and brainstorm initiatives designed to foster belonging in the organisation.
