When we talk about the importance of diverse leadership in organisations, too often the conversation focuses on gender diversity, but a deeper look at intersecting identities is necessary if we are to truly transform leadership. In particular, it’s essential that there is action taken by organisations to hire, develop, retain and promote First Nations people.
Reports such as ANU’s Navigating to Senior Leadership in The Australian Public Service: Identifying Employment Barriers and Enablers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples detail a range of actions that can be taken to increase representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in senior leadership.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remain vastly underrepresented – or completely excluded from leadership in the Australian workforce. The Minderoo Foundation’s Indigenous Employment Index found that representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at senior leadership levels was just 0.7 per cent among some of Australia’s largest employers.
And we know from research into the Victorian public sector in 2023 that First Nations women face additional barriers to getting jobs and promotions. Additionally, the research showed that many First Nations women also feel unsatisfied, undervalued and unsuccessful when it comes to obtaining successful career progression.
With experience as a senior executive in the government and tertiary sectors, Kamilaroi woman, Carlyn Waters is aware of the barriers experienced by First Nations people in the workplace. Waters is known for her ability to identify and grow talented individuals to reach their full potential inside and outside of government.
As a Director at Cultivate Indigenous, she’s put these skills to use in developing Cultivate Sponsorship’s Warra program, which has been designed to assist executives to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in leadership and decision-making roles in their organisation.
“When I was invited to help develop Warra, it was a light bulb moment for me,” Waters told Women’s Agenda recently. “I suddenly understood what we’re missing.”
Waters explains that far too often, leadership and talent development programs aimed at First Nations people come from a ‘deficit model point of view’.
“But actually, there’s nothing wrong with us as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our workplaces. It’s just further up [in our organisations], people don’t know we exist,” Waters explained.
“So when Kat [Cultivate Sponsorship founder Katriina Tähkä] and I started discussing sponsorship and the impact it could have on increasing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in leadership, I said, ‘I’m there, sign me up’.”
In the Warra sponsorship program, emerging First Nations leaders in an organisation are partnered with senior leaders, with the aim of enhancing the growth, retention, leadership and exposure of First Nations people to senior leaders and their work, as well as increasing the cross-cultural capability within the organisation, particularly at senior and decision-making levels. Warra is delivered over a 6 month period through face-to-face workshops, online activities and one-on-one meetings.
As for other measures that could help increase the number of First Nation leaders, Waters says succession planning and talent mapping are key. Sponsorship programs can help propel these processes, Waters says.
Another key policy that is important for organisations to adopt is ensuring that training and development programs have 50 per cent participation of First Nations people, Waters says.
“First Nations people are often put through mainstream talent programs which are fine, but don’t allow us to explore the nuisances to Indigenous-specific leadership styles,” Waters said.
“Making sure that 50 per cent of the cohort are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people allows for better sharing, building cultural capability, sharing our experiences and gives us all a chance to network with each other as we progress our careers, whatever they look like within an organisation or an industry.”
Waters said kindness and empathy are even more important in the wake of the failed referendum on the Voice to Parliament held last year. During this time, many First Nations people, including herself, came up against rising levels of racism in the community and the workplace.
This message also ties in with the theme of this year’s NAIDOC Week, which is ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’. ” It’s about encapsulating the unapologetic celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities.
“Evidence continues to show that institutional structural racism exists, and for me, that includes overt and covert racism and the microaggressions,” Waters said. “It’s also imperative that leaders across sectors grapple with the unconscious bias that influence their decisions every day.”
“The world has really changed, and I see it in workplaces. I think we all need to be kinder.”
You can find out more about Cultivate Sponsorship’s Warra program here.