This article was originally published on www.nawo.org.au on 16/06/2021 and has been re-published with permission.

One of the first changes was to actively help employees access flexible working opportunities, improve their return to work policy, and provide more uniform options for women. The team leading these initiatives, including our Victorian Committee Member Hannah Babbington, then created a focus group of employees across different business units. The group meet every two weeks to discuss issues employees may experience, and then work to make improvements and raise awareness around these issues.

Last year MaxiPARTS established a women’s forum, providing female employees with a safe place to discuss any concerns they may have. The forum is also a great way for women to meet and connect across the business and recently the forum ran at lunch time and the group joined our Check In & Chat with Dr Karen Morley.

This year the group have created calendar of events to celebrate and acknowledge the different cultures represented by employees.  Amongst events so far was a celebration of Lunar New Year, and the creation of a recipe book for Harmony Day, compiled of family recipes contributed by employees.

Most recently, MaxiPARTS ran a month long weekly education piece to all employees around the subject of ‘diversity being more than just gender’.  In order to be inclusive of employees who don’t have access to email, in-person sessions were also available to communicate this focus and engage employees on the theme.

The team have a lot more exciting events planned, including a celebration for International Happiness at Work week in September. In addition to celebrating diversity they also have awareness training sessions in the pipeline, including training for their senior management team, with the aim to further instil the message that inclusion and diversity is a key priority for the business.  These varied yet effective steps show how a group of motivated and committed employees can effect real and positive change for their organisation, and in a fully inclusive way.