Author: Symmetra

The insidious outcomes of sex discrimination at work

Christine Holgate is but the latest female victim of the wretched, toxic masculine culture which pervades many of Australia’s political, corporate and sporting institutions. Her tale forcefully related to a Senate committee exposure once again of a culture where male power-plays exact a fearful toll on women: in Christine’s case causing her to contemplate suicide. …

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Symmetra CEO, Heather Price, is an Expert Panellist for the fourth edition of the Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Benchmarks (GDEIB) being launched today

How does an organization know if its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program will be effective in today’s, sometimes contentious, multicultural climate? How should systemic racism and other issues be addressed in the workplace? With the support of 112 global experts from around the world, we now know what makes for the success of DEI …

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Working Remotely? Make Sure You Are Silo-Busting

A number of recent articles have pointed out that  one of the potential negative consequences of the new work-from-home paradigm is that our links to acquaintances and our weak ties may dissipate or be lost. We may no longer have a chat with the barista or the receptionist on the way to the office or …

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Can We Halt the Perverse Cycle of Racism?

This is a very personal piece for me to write, as a White privileged person, who has sought over a large part of my professional life to mitigate some of the most egregious manifestations of racism and prejudice directed towards persons of colour. I come from South Africa (am now an Australian citizen) where race …

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Female Leaders Shine in Crises – will this debias the lens through which they are seen?

The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity –William Butler Yeats Male leaders stumble Disasters and Crises show leaders at their best and worst. Some political leaders show their underlying strength, the ability to listen and a talent to rally the troops when decisions to act are taken. Others respond …

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Why are 75% of suicides by men?

By the end of today, 12 people will have taken their lives by suicide, 75% of them will be men. In recognition that the Covid-19 Crisis would place a significant burden on the mental health of citizens, the Australian Federal Government approved long overdue additional funding for mental health services in March. It unfortunately needed …

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What will the Future WorkPlace, in the “Future of Work”, look like?

As we enter Phase 3, of the S-Curve (A. Edmondson, adapted from G. Land), we have a unique opportunity to design “Future WorkPlaces” as a win-win-win for business, teams and individuals. The “Great Working from Home Experiment of 2020”, did not have the benefit of the consciously considered human-centred design principles, we typically recommend for …

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