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Diversity

Yesterday

Usman Khawaja.

What Usman Khawaja got wrong about discrimination in corporate Australia

Instead of encouraging Asian-Australians to do the hard yards that lead to the top, the cricketer is promoting an entitlement culture that is a sure road to failure.

This Month

Are men willing to call out misogynistic comments that are made when women aren’t around?

The surprising growth of men’s groups in big companies

Colleagues are gathering to unload about mental stress, the strains of financing a new home and the challenges of raising sons against the backdrop of toxic masculinity.

October

People who wear designer clothes and attended private schools private schooling are still more likely to be flagged as leadership material.

The class signals that decide who gets promoted in Australia

Having a “bogan” accent or a “hick” degree can cruel leadership aspirations, according to a new report. Oh, and add watching reality TV and rugby league to that mix.

September

By the numbers at least, the directors club looks pretty solid.

The surprising secret of Australia’s infamous directors’ club

A new longitudinal study of Australia’s frequently maligned non-executive directors suggests improvements in independence, diversity, workload and alignment.

Neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell at the March for Australia rally. Nothing is better guaranteed to generate extremist, fringe-mentality backlash than to silence reasonable voices.

Calling ordinary Aussies ‘racist’ won’t protect multiculturalism

Dog-whistling about racism seeks to delegitimise those who wish to debate migration on any terms.

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August

Thousands of people have urged Harvard to keep fighting, and not settle, with the Trump administration.

Thousands urge Harvard to fight Trump’s $769m fine

In a petition, alumni, faculty and members of the public have asked Harvard to “not give in” to the White House’s demands to pay a sum to restore research funds.

Workplace racism costs economy $37b a year: AHRC

The race discrimination commissioner has called on the government to pass legislation requiring companies to safeguard against racism in the workplace.

July

Ever the trailblazer, Paul Zahra was instrumental in helping to get the University of Sydney’s LGBTIQ+ Executive Leadership fellowship off the ground.

There are only 6 openly gay directors on the ASX. Paul Zahra hopes to change that

The former David Jones CEO helped establish the University of Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ Executive Fellowship to create a pipeline of visibly diverse leaders.

June

Food chain Carl’s Jr has returned to rolling out an ad featuring a scantily clad woman.

‘Bikinis and burgers’: How the culture wars are remaking advertising

Brands are diluting or scrapping campaigns with a social purpose as the movement against DEI intensifies.

Trump capitalised on the discontent over ESG and DEI throughout his campaign and has fully weaponised it in his second term.

Why ESG and DEI could be the next big business risk

The instinctive reaction to the ESG and DEI “vibe shift” in the US was to persist, defend the status quo, and write off what was happening over there as an isolated phenomenon.

Rio Tinto’s new leadership team will need to confront its Juukan Gorge failings.

What RoboDebt, Hayne and Rio Tinto tell us about ESG’s limits

The reason today’s senior executives are ‘shy’ about ESG is that their efforts have not prevented major scandals.

HESTA’s Sonya Sawtell-Rickson said it was a “significant milestone” that all the super fund’s investment partners now are anticipated to have mixed-gender investment
teams this calendar year.

HESTA fund managers boost female ranks in diversity push

The superannuation giant is pushing to reform the male-dominated funds management sector, saying diverse teams make better investment decisions.

Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, president of Chief Executive Women.

A showcase of talent – and signal for the future

Gender equality is not just a women’s issue. Research consistently shows that when women fully participate in the workforce, everyone benefits.

May

Businessman David Gonski says that layers of regulation unduly burden directors with liability, causing boardroom discussions to prioritise governance over critical strategic matters that improve operational performance and enhance returns for shareholders.

Director Awards underline importance of greater boardroom diversity

Homogeneity undermines accountability, stifles directors’ willingness to ask management the hard questions, and causes boards to succumb to mere conformity.

Harvard’s antisemitic harassment reflects a deeper cultural malaise that has taken root across Western higher education, where combative identity politics too often eclipses academic integrity and institutional accountability.

Trump’s war on Harvard could cripple Australian research

The blunt-force targeting of foreign students is not only reckless but erodes the pillars of intellectual diversity that Trump claims to be defending.

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Macquarie Group CEO Shemara Wikramanayake says the group will work with regulators.

Trump backlash forces Macquarie to soften its DEI talk

The bank says cultural and racial inclusion are still important, but its latest annual report is much more subdued than last year’s.

Jingmin Qian, director IPH.

Board diversity: ‘What we’re doing is not working’

Fewer directors with Chinese or Indian backgrounds sit on large listed company boards than in 2017, while the number of Indigenous or openly gay directors is tiny.

April

Students, faculty and members of the Harvard University community rally against the Trump administration.

The real reason Trump wants to destroy Harvard

The White House’s charge of antisemitism is a cynical tactic to pursue a broader attack on academic freedom.

Students and teachers protest at Harvard University this month.

Harvard sues Trump administration over funding freeze

The world’s wealthiest university has accused the US government of making “sweeping and intrusive demands”.

The New York outfit has avoided the ire of Donald Trump, but has followed other law firms in removing references  to DEI.

Freehills’ US partner scrubs DEI references ahead of merger

Kramer Levin has removed references to diversity initiatives from its website, after law firms were targeted by the Trump administration over their DEI programs.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/diversity-5wc