I’m proud to be part of an organisation committed to building a more inclusive workplace and one that promotes equal access to opportunities for women and men. At NBN Co, we aspire to have a workforce that is representative of all Australians.

Technological advances are consistently taking place for a better tomorrow, with our business helping to enable this for the nation by undertaking one of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects to operate and build a national broadband network.

And, for this, we need the best workforce. That means we need to represent all Australians to provide the best possible customer experience.

Meaningful steps forward

One of our goals is to build diverse and balanced teams by increasing the percentage of women in leadership positions to 33 per cent by the year 2020 and moving towards Executive team composition of 40:40:20 (so 40 per cent men: 40 per cent women: 20 per cent either) by 2022.

We’re taking meaningful steps forward to achieve this, including:

• introducing hiring strategies to break down barriers and unconscious bias
• focusing strongly on achieving and maintaining Gender Pay Equity
• supporting women’s career progression with mentoring, sponsorship and development programs
• identifying and developing emerging female leaders and high-potential talent across the business 
• building a great place to work with inclusion as a key focus in our leadership programs
• offering opportunities for flexible working arrangements for all employees 
• providing an inclusive, safe and supportive working environment through leading parental leave and domestic violence support policies

The benefits of diversity

Research shows that balanced teams, which offer diverse ideas and experiences, will deliver the best business results, a positive customer experience and attract the best people.

Having diverse teams creates diversity in thinking – which means unexpected and, sometimes, ingenious results.

There are significant commercial benefits in viewing issues from different perspectives: diverse teams hold greater industry knowledge and insights, which can then be used to expand an organisation’s customer base and better serve its market.

A 2016 study by The Petersen Institute for International Economics — the largest study of its kind, surveying nearly 22,000 firms across 91 countries — suggests the presence of women on corporate boards and in the C-suite may contribute to firm performance.  

For profitable firms, a move from no female leaders to 30 per cent representation is associated with a 15 per cent increase in the net revenue margin.

Diversity within organisations also has a positive effect on productivity and staff morale, and usually results in higher staff retention rates.

A 2012 research report from the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission in partnership with Deloitte Australia demonstrates the tangible uplift in business performance (80 per cent according to Deloitte’s modelling) when employees think their workplace is highly committed to and supportive of diversity, and they feel highly included.

It’s clear everyone stands to gain from a diverse and inclusive workplace. In line with our company values, at NBN Co, we are one team – and with better balance, we can be better together.