 What protocols should one follow when handling informal diversity issues?

Employees may feel anxious about raising a formal grievance or complaint. They may be
concerned about the reaction they might receive or worry how it will affect their job security.
The advantage of dealing with complaints informally, is that you can often agree with the
employee how best they want you to handle the issue, and this can be done without having to
notify lots of people or conduct detailed investigations.

 Who is a complaint officer and what actions should he/she take if a formal complaint is made?
A Complaints Officer is responsible for ensuring that stresses are minimised and that both
parties find the process transparent, informative and thorough whilst complying fully with
policy, and thus with legislation.

A good complaint process will also include provisions to:

 protect employees from being victimized because they have made a complaint
 protect employees from vexatious and malicious complaints
 ensure appropriate confidential records are kept about complaints and that this information is
stored and managed appropriately.

 Once a formal complaint is lodged what are the next steps that a complaint officer should take?

1. Initial contact point

The contact person should:
a) be available to listen to an employee’s concerns about discrimination or harassment
b) not form a view of the merit of any allegations
c) not form a view of the merit of any allegations
d) provide information about the internal complaint process

2. Early resolution
a. a direct private discussion between the complainant and the respondent
b. an impartial third person conveying information between those involved
c. an impartial third person helping those involved to talk to each other and find a solution.
d. the complainant indicates a desire to sit down and discuss the matter with the
respondent informally and this seems appropriate in the circumstances

3. Formal resolution
a) provide information about the complaint process, potential outcomes, options for
assistance/support and protections from victimization
b) ensure the allegations are documented, either by the complainant or the complaint
officer
c) explain that the process is confidential, what this means and why it is important
 What are the options for employees who are not comfortable in raising diversity issues at work?

a) Educate managers on the benefits of diversity in the workplace so those employees can seek
help and get advice from them.
b) Create more inclusive workplace policies.
c) Communicate clearly and create employees – lead task force.
d) Offer meaningful opportunities for employee’s engagement. (arrange both work base
activities a d external employee engagement outings.)
e) Create mentorship programs.
f) After workplace flexibility.

 What principles should one follow to demonstrate respect for diversity in the workplace?

 Get to know someone different than you. Take a genuine interest in someone with a different
background than your own. Make sure that your conversations find common ground in an area that
it does not offend cultural sensibilities.
 Invite input from others with different backgrounds. Not only does this show respect, but it makes
good business sense to have a diverse opinion.
 Bring together diverse groups for innovation. Inviting as many backgrounds and cultures as possible
will increase the pace and creativity involved with innovation.
 Respect religious holidays. All-important religious holidays should be respected for employees of
that particular religion.
 Find someone with a different background who shares the same company goal with you and
strategize with them.
 Find out about everyone in your departments skills, knowledge and experience. This will help you
respect what they bring to the workplace.
 Invite someone with a diverse background to lunch or change your table every day at lunch in the
break room so you can sit with new people.
 Avoid language that demeans a particular group of individuals. For instance, avoid calling women
girls and avoid jokes that have religious or cultural inferences.
 When hiring or promoting individuals do so on the basis of facts only. Skills, abilities, knowledge
and results should be the only factors involved in your decisions. Do not let biases or stereotypes
affect the process.

 What are EO – Mention some characteristics on what are the unlawful disadvantage to employees

Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial
barriers or prejudices or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified.

 Communication may be more tough in a diverse workforce, even if everyone is speaking English.
 Workers from cultures that value deference to management may not speak up without
encouragement.
 Standards of polite behavior may differ wildly among employees.
 Employees may be self-conscious about what they say or the jokes they tell for fear of
unintentionally offending someone.
 Employees from different groups may form cliques and avoid other groups, reducing the benefits
of diversity.
 If some employees have attitudes, they may not keep their views in check. That can create a
tense, hostile workplace.

 Why should you consult with staff when it comes to diversity matters?

1. Determine the reason for the consultation.

2. Determine their preferred method of consultation.
3. Identify the times they available for consultation to attained meeting.
4. Pitch information at the known level/s of stakeholders.
5. Work out how they prefer their information to be provide to them.
6. Generate a range of ways in which stakeholders can contribute.

 How can you provide support when it comes to enhancing diversity efforts in the workplace?

1. Be aware of unconscious bias

Building awareness is a first step towards real change. Educate employees by helping them to understand
how individuals are impacted by unconscious bias, and what actions continue to reinforce unconscious
bias. One way to build awareness and address unconscious bias is to encourage every employee to
review, question and analysis their own personal potential biases and assumptions.

2. Communicate the importance of managing bias

Employees need tools and training that provide guidance on actions for moving forward. Joelle Emerson
in Harvard Business Review suggests that a concern with diversity or unconscious bias training and
teaching is that people can become defensive. “Training can be designed to reduce defensiveness by
explaining that we don’t have unconscious biases because we’re bad people – we have them because we
are people,” she explains. The article adds that internal bias training is an effective way to inspire change
and higher understanding amongst employees, citing Google’s internal training findings as one example.

3. Offer diversity and inclusion training

Diversity training helps employees understand how cultural differences can impact how people work, and
interact at work. It can cover anything from concepts of time and communication styles to self-identity
and dealing with conflict. Diversity training which is offered as optional tends to be more effective than
that which is made mandatory.

4. Acknowledge holidays of all cultures

One way to build awareness of diversity and foster greater inclusivity is to be aware of and acknowledge
a variety of upcoming religious and cultural holidays. When closing out a team call or meeting, if the
audience isn’t too large, ask how people plan to celebrate the holiday. Be respectful of these days when
scheduling meetings, and understand that employees may have different needs and require flexibility.
5. Mix up your teams

A diverse cross-section of talent allows enhanced perspective, which will spur creativity on teams. If your
team invites a guest with a different gender, cultural background, or age, to weigh in on the initiative.

 Outline what is protected in the below Acts:

Age discrimination act 2004

Disability discrimination act 1992

Racial discrimination act 1975

Sex discrimination act 1984

Human rights commission act 1986

 Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA).

The Racial Discrimination Act 1975, promotes equality before the law for all people regardless of race,
colour or national or ethnic origin. It is unlawful to discrimination against people on the basis of race,
colour, descent or national or ethnic origin. The RDA makes racial discrimination in certain contexts
unlawful in Australia, and overrides States and Territory legislation to the extent of any inconsistency.
For example, if a new employee is being recruited to an event organization he/she should be treated
equally as others, there should not be any discrimination act among the employees just because he/she
is black or white, different country, etc.

 Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (SDA).

The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia which prohibits discrimination
on the basis of sex, marital or relationship status, actual or potential pregnancy, sexual orientation,
gender identity, intersex status or breastfeeding in a range of areas of public life. These areas include
work, accommodation, education, the provision of goods, facilities and services, the activities of clubs
and the administration of Commonwealth laws and programs . For example, if a member of a LGBTI joins
an organization he/she should not be treated like a new type of human being. They are also a part of
this world and to be in this category they have made a choice for themselves and who are we to judge
what they have made. Treating them equally is important.

 Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA).

The DDA implements Australia’s international human rights obligations under the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities as well as obligations relating to non-discrimination under other
treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The DDA provides a
mechanism for individuals to make complaints and seek redress for disability discrimination in certain
areas of public life, including education. If a person believes they have been discriminated against they
can make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission about discrimination. For example, a
good company will never discriminate any kind of human being, if a disable person is recruited they will
have to make changes like a special chair, the table must get changed to his/her comfortability, etc. The
level of qualification and the ability to work will be the only aspects that should be considered when
recruiting.

 Age Discrimination Act 2004 (ADA).

Age Discrimination is when someone treats you unfairly because of your age. If you experience ageism,
it can impact on your confidence, job prospects, financial situation and quality of life. It's important that
ageism is tackled to make sure that nobody loses out because of their age. Employees are protected
from discrimination at all stages of employment including recruitment, workplace terms and
conditions and dismissal. For example, Gary notices his younger co-workers at the factory are receiving
training on new machinery. When he asks why he has not been invited to the training sessions, Gary’s
supervisor tells him he is getting a bit old to learn new tricks and should stick to what he knows.

 Human Rights Commission Act 1986.

The Commission’s primary functions include: investigation and conciliation of complaints about
discrimination and breaches of human rights; holding public inquiries into human rights issues of
national importance; developing human rights education programs and resources for schools,
workplaces and the community; providing independent legal advice to assist courts in cases that involve
human rights principles; providing advice to governments to develop laws and policies consistent with
international human rights agreements.