Prospective dads and partners can now apply for paid time off work when their new baby is born. Eligible fathers are entitled to two weeks paid leave under the federal governments Dad and Partner Pay scheme, as of 1 January 2013. The leave itself is not a new entitlement, but the payment is. Under the …
Ostensible differences between male and female abilities – from reading maps to multitasking, from verbal skills to expressing emotion – are claimed to be based on variations in the hard-wiring of brains at birth. This belief has become widespread, particularly in the wake of publications like Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. Whatever …
On 19th September, Symmetra’s CEO Heather Price, was a guest speaker at a breakfast seminar in Auckland, hosted by the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Trust and the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. The EEO Trust is a not-for-profit organisation designed to provide EEO information and tools to employers and raise awareness of diversity issues in the workplace in …
Can unconscious bias be inferred when taking into account the subjective intention of an employer, (what the employer really thought), when she or he acts against an employee? The recent High Court’s (HCA) decision on The Board of Bendigo Regional Institute of Technical and Further Education v Barclay [2012] (Barclay) focused on whether the law …
In June 2012, NZX, the operator of New Zealand’s capital markets, introduced a Diversity Listing Rule that must be applied to annual reports for all NZX Main Board listed issuers on or after 31 December 2012. We are all aware of the evidence that gender diversity at both Board and senior management level contributes to …
Symmetra Connect is a new value add initiative we are launching for our key clients. It will include a series of small, intimate sessions on a range of Diversity and Inclusion issues. Symmetra will connect corporates who are leading the way on such issues, with thought leaders in positions of power and influence. Our inaugural …
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is celebrated across Australia each year between 27 May and 3 June. The dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey—the anniversaries of the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision in 1992. NRW is an opportunity for contemporary Australians to reflect on our heritage and the building …
The 21st century has changed the ‘face’ of the world, and some will suggest that the inter-connecting characteristic of globalisation has been at the heart of this change: The evidence is everywhere to see in the cultural diversity that characterises many of our world cities: London with a population of 7.7 million, New York, 8 …
There is so much good stuff going on at the moment within ‘the world’ of D&I and business in Australia, and indeed globally, that at times it is hard just to keep up!! But this is where we’ve always wanted to be, and the results are clear for all to see: greater focus on workplace …
Across major corporates globally, there is now a widely recognised effort to ensure that the competitive advantage that diversity brings is leveraged effectively. In Australia, New Zealand, and many countries across Europe for example, organisations have either set themselves individual targets, or are tasked by their respective governments to report on actions they are proactively …