Careers in Colour #10: Recap of our first in-person event in Melbourne, CiC updates and things to check out
From allyship to action: Empowering leaders of colour
A recap of our first event in Melbourne in partnership with Deloitte
In August, we held our second event of the year in collaboration with Deloitte. From allyship to action: Empowering leaders of colour which focused on what it means to be an active ally and exploring the difference between sponsorship and mentorship to enable success for First Nations and racially and culturally diverse talent.
This event was held at the Deloitte Melbourne office and we were fortunate to have Paul Rehder (He/Him) - Chief Growth Officer, Deloitte, Tharani Jegatheeswaran (She/Her) - Partner, Sydney Consulting Leader at Deloitte Australia, Katie Wyatt (She/Her) - Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity, BHP and Frances Feenstra (She/Her) - Associate Director, People Measure join our esteemed panel. The event was opened by Komala Murugiah (She/Her) and Warren James (He/Him) from Deloitte and the discussion for the evening was moderated by Adi Rai (He/Him) , a CiC member and Manager at EY.
The panel discussion highlighted the importance of sponsors who were willing to put their political and social capital on the line to advocate for their sponsee, being listened to and providing space to draw others into the conversation. Other takeaways include:
💡 Change makers actively look for bias and do something about it
💡 People don’t resist and fight change; they resist loss. Let’s acknowledge it and have real conversations about how we better share opportunities that enable everyone to have a fair chance to thrive
💡 If you have power, you likely have privilege. It’s time to turn back, share, and help someone else up the ladder—your rewards will outweigh your investment
💡 Talent is normally distributed in the population—maybe it’s time to consider updating your definition of talent to align with the times
💡 Sponsorship is less about intentionally finding someone to sponsor you directly, it's more about finding people who share your values and are willing to advocate for you.
📚 Book recommendations:
The First, the Few, the Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America by Deepa Purushothaman - Tharani’s recommendation
Living on Stolen Land by Ambelin Kwaymullina - Frances’ recommendation
We would like to thank Global Shapers Melbourne and Global Shapers Sydney, and Lama Tiavo and Lavanyah Thangarasu லாவண்யா தங்கராசு and their teams from Deloitte, for all the help to bring this event to fruition.
We also wanted to thank MindTribes Pty Ltd for their continual support and resources that helped to make this event a success.
To everyone who attended—let’s keep this momentum going! It’s time to turn allyship into meaningful action. 🚀
If you have any feedback on the event, please complete the form here or please contact us if you have any suggestions for future events.
🆕 What’s been happening at CiC?
We caught up with our Education Partner MindTribes to chat about L&D opportunities. MindTribes recently revamped their website and digital Hub. Upcoming on their Hub is latest research into Anti Racism Guidelines from a practitioner lens so sign up and keep an eye out for exclusive first access!
We became a co-signatory to the Out of Sight, Out of Pocket campaign led by Ladies Talk Money, focused on intersectional gender pay gap reporting.
We’ve been busy preparing for our first Alliance roundtable on 14 September. Watch this space!
📖 In the newsroom and things to check out
The Public Service Commission has launched a guide to fostering anti-racist workplaces in the NSW public sector.
A recent study by University of Sydney study has unearthed that advanced intelligence (AI) training is needed when developing nutrition apps to address accuracy, cultural diversity.
Our member Afeeya Akhand আফিয়া আখন্দ recently co-authored an article with Aletana Ajulo for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on the importance of elevating cultural, racial and linguistic diversity in Australiua’s national security committee.
🗓 More events and opportunities
The Women of Colour Leadership & Allyship Summit will take place on 22-23 October in Melbourne and online. The summit features an amazing lineup of speakers and will amplify the voices of inspiring women of colour, showcasing their remarkable leadership journeys as they navigate systemic barriers, biases, defy stereotypes and challenge the norms of white male leadership.
Media Diversity Australia is running a national survey to map the state of affairs across Australia media. If you work in the Australian media industry, your participation is vital in helping to identify the challenges and opportunities within the industry, particularly for those who are from marginalised backgrounds. Take part in the survey here.
Addressing workplace sexual harassment is critical, with 1 in 3 Australians experiencing it in the last 5 years. There is less than one month left until online submissions close for the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Speaking From Experience project. The online submissions invite anyone who has been sexually harassed at work to share their advice on making workplaces safer.
