Decision details

Minute by the Lord Mayor

To Council:

The City of Sydney was recently included in the Diversity Council Australia’s list of “Inclusive Australian Employers for 2023-2024”. This recognition followed analysis of the City’s performance as an employer across various diversity demographics, and the workplace inclusion and exclusion experiences of our employees.

The City was also awarded the “Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award for Excellence 2023”, by Urban Development Institute of Australia and MYBOS management systems. Nominees for this award were required to demonstrate that diversity and inclusion is embedded in their organisation and show its impact.

This recognition follows considerable work over many years to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

We were the first local government organisation to monitor and publicly report on gender pay equity. For seven years in a row, we have defied Australian trends with a pay gap in favour of women. Our 2023 gender pay gap was 5.3 per cent in favour of women. The main reason for this is the leadership profile of our organisation. In 2023, 55 per cent of our Executive team were female and 53 per cent of our senior managers were female.

Other work has focused on removing barriers from recruitment processes and partnering with disability recruitment agencies and better measuring cultural diversity in the workplace and increasing cultural awareness and the cultural competency of our staff and managers, including by introducing diversity and inclusion training for all new employees.

This year, the City introduced Care and Culture Leave that allows employees to participate in culturally important or religious days, ceremonies or activities and is helping ensure our workplaces are culturally inclusive. We are starting to implement our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Workforce Strategy, which recognises the critical role that meaningful employment plays in the lives of individuals and communities.

This work has led to the increases in the percentage of City employees who identify as part of all diversity groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and people with diverse sexualities and genders.

The City has established an internal Anti-Racism Working Group. The Working Group is using the Diversity Council of Australia’s Racism at Work framework as a guide for organisational action. Engagement with the Multicultural Advisory Panel, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel and the Inclusion (Disability) Advisory Panel will commence in early 2024.

It is important that we maintain our focus on this work. The shameful result of the Voice referendum and the impact of global conflicts within our community this year have shown how important it is to promote harmony and diversity in every way we can – across both our organisation and community.

COUNCILLOR CLOVER MOORE AO

Lord Mayor

Moved by the Lord Mayor –

It is resolved that Council:

(A)       note the City was awarded the Urban Development Institute of Australia's Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award for Excellence 2023 and was recently included in the Diversity Council Australia's list of Inclusive Australian Employers for 2023-2024; and

(B)       congratulate the Chief Executive Officer and Executive and City staff for their ongoing commitment and hard work to create a diverse, inclusive and culturally safe workplace.

Carried unanimously.

S051491

Note – the Lord Mayor and Councillors congratulated the Chief Executive Officer, Executive and City staff by round of applause.