Your fortnightly newsletter from DCA. Together towards inclusion. |
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Inclusive Employer Index EOIs now open! Don’t miss out on early‑bird savings |
Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are now open to participate in the 2026-2027 Inclusive Employer Index. Sign up before 5 April 2026 to take advantage of the 10% early-bird discount, available for both DCA Member and non-member organisations.
The Inclusive Employer Index is a powerful diagnostic tool to assess your organisation’s D&I progress, benchmark strengths, pinpoint areas for growth, and provide actionable insights to enhance your approach to diversity and inclusion (D&I). |
By participating, your organisation will gain: - insights into your employees’ experiences of inclusion and exclusion
- an interactive dashboard to explore your workforce’s D&I data
- comprehensive benchmarking against the Australian workforce, other DCA members, and (where applicable) your industry
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support through webinars and communication templates, along with (for DCA members) access to a range of membership services.
Organisations that meet or exceed the assessment criteria will be recognised as one of DCA’s Inclusive Employers for 2026-2027, with recognition lasting the two-year period. |
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Use your results to apply for WGEA’s Employer of Choice for Gender Equality Citation DCA’s Inclusive Employer Index asks the five employee experience questions required for WGEA’s Employer of Choice for Gender Equality Citation. A separate data export is available with gender disaggregated responses and total response rate. |
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Celebrating DCA Member achievements this International Women’s Day |
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International Women’s Day (8 March) is an important milestone for workplaces as we strive toward gender equality. Research shows gender equality offers a range of measurable and well-documented benefits for individual businesses as well as the wider economy. A continued focus on women’s empowerment and equality, and their elevation to leadership, is a necessary part of finding solutions for our collective future.
To support this ongoing mission, and to mark this important day, four of our member organisations – DuluxGroup, Energy Queensland, Great Southern Bank, and Rest share the work they are doing towards gender equality. |
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Why inclusive leadership matters now more than ever
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In a time of rising complexity, polarisation, and rapid technological change, the role of leaders in creating safe, equitable, high‑performing workplaces has never been more important. While DCA’s latest Inclusion@Work Index 2025–2026 shows encouraging progress for workers in inclusive teams and inclusive organisations, one result remains stubbornly unchanged: only 1 in 3 Australian workers say their manager is inclusive, a figure that has hardly moved since 2019. The evidence is clear: if organisations want innovative, productive, safe workplaces, they must invest in building inclusive leadership capability now. In a blog from DCA’s Head of Education, Phoebe Mwanza (she/her), discusses what makes an inclusive manager, why inclusive leadership matters and why it should be a priority. She also provides clear steps to becoming an inclusive manager. |
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New research to launch on Neurodiversity Celebration Week |
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Neurodiversity Celebration Week takes place this year from 16 – 20 March. DCA is marking the week with the launch of a significant new resource: the Neurodiversity Data at Work guide, developed in partnership with Amaze. The guide equips organisations with respectful, inclusive, and practical approaches for collecting and reporting neurodiversity data.
Read our Q&A with DCA’s Head of Research, Dr Rose D’Almada-Remedios (she/her), discussing what to expect in this new guide, why it is important, and ways employers can mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week. |
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DCA to present at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) this month |
The seventieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 9 to 19 March 2026. Dr Virginia Mapedzahama (she/her), DCA's Director - Racial Equity and Intersectionality, will present online at the session, ‘Who fixes the system: Women at work, power, justice, leadership’. The session will be introduced by DCA's CEO, Catherine Hunter (she/her), and draw on insights from the Australian government-funded RISE Project. We look forward to sharing insights from the event with members in the coming weeks.
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DCA submission to inquiry into Fair Work Amendment (Right to Work from Home) Bill 2025 |
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In November 2025, the Senate referred the Fair Work Amendment (Right to Work from Home) Bill 2025 for inquiry and report. DCA supports the intent of the Bill to strengthen access to working from home as a legitimate and important form of flexible work. We have long been an advocate for providing workers with the flexibility they need to manage work and other commitments, whether it be flexibility in where, when or how they do their job. |
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Join DCA's membership team in Melbourne |
We are seeking a Member Engagement Manager who understands the realities of D&I practice and is motivated by supporting others to do this work well. In this role, you will partner closely with member organisations to strengthen their capability, confidence and impact in D&I. You will build trusted, values‑led relationships, support organisations at different stages of their D&I journey, and help ensure our research, tools and learning opportunities are translated into real‑world practice.
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A warm welcome to the following organisations who recently became members of Diversity Council Australia! |
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Research launch: Neurodiversity Data at Work guide |
Online | In-person (Melbourne)
Date: Monday 16 March 2026
Time: 11:00 AM to 12:15 PM AEDT |
Date: Thursday 26 March 2026
Time: 1:00 to 2:00 PM AEDT |
Date: Monday 30 March 2026
Time: 1:00 to 2:00 PM AEDT |
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The Bottom Line campaign by Our Watch Institute reminds us that preventing gendered violence starts in the workplace. Australian businesses have the power to create safer, more respectful communities. When businesses lead the way in fostering fairness and respect, they don’t just create safer workplaces; they influence how people show up in their families, relationships and everyday lives.
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Family Friendly Workplaces 2025 Impact Report |
The Family Friendly Workplaces 2025 Impact Report shows how supporting working families transforms workplaces. Benchmarking more than 750 employers representing almost 1.2 million Australian employees the report shows that seven in ten workplaces do not meet minimum family-friendly standards at first assessment. Family Friendly Workplaces continues to demonstrate that redesigning work and care strengthens participation, retention, leadership accountability and long-term productivity.
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Diversity Council Australia is proudly supported by |
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Diversity Council Australia Limited
Hub Customs House Level 4, 31 Alfred St
Sydney NSW 2000 |
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