The Tech Council of Australia (TCA) is hoping to address the industry’s “women problem” by launching a certification framework for the sector to address equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) amid lingering tension over the organisation’s response to former board member Richard White.
The TCA is gathering in Melbourne this week for the three-day National Tech Summit, “an inclusive and exciting vision for Australia’s tech future”.
The council will launch “T-EDI standards” tonight, having engaged Emma Jones, CEO and founder of Project F, a social impact business helping organisations achieve sustainable gender equality in their tech teams, during 2024 to develop the framework.
Project F has programs to help startups address diversity in their workplaces. The platform is used by the likes of Canva, Google, UNSW and VC fund Blackbird.
The T-EDI framework will see tech companies self-assess their performance against 10 equity, diversity and inclusion standards and develop an action plan that addresses areas for improvement.
The Harvest Report, released last month by the female-led collective Grapevine, and compiled from more than 300 submissions to the site, which helps women address harassment in the workplace, found that 72% of those who experienced discrimination, bullying, or harassment chose to leave the company. Formal reporting was low, with just 23% of incidents escalated through official channels with 44% of people saying the feared the repercussions and 96% of those who raised issues informally had negative experiences with senior leaders, HR, or managers.
Last month, as a slew of allegations from multiple women about the behaviour of WiseTech founder and former TCA board member Richard White emerged, pressure mounted on the industry lobby group to act as alarm grew among Tech Council members about the collateral damage to the peak body’s reputation.
As the scandals mounted, Grapevine cofounder Jessy Wu accused the Tech Council of being “completely spineless” and lacking the “moral courage” to sack White.
“Delaying decisive action sends a heartbreaking message to victims who’ve bravely come forward – that it does not feel it has enough information to censure White,” she wrote.
“As the ‘trusted voice’ for the industry, the Tech Council’s actions cast a long shadow, and inform how other tech companies respond to people who come forward with reports of inappropriate behaviour.”
The TCA emailed members the previous day telling them that “the board continues to assess and monitor the matter closely and is following its governance processes”. Several hours later, the billionaire resigned as WiseTech CEO and also stepped down from from the TCA board, just four months after his appointment.
Diversity a priority
TCA CEO Damian Kassabgi said ahead of launching the DEI framework today that fostering greater diversity in the tech sector has been a priority for the industry group.
“The T-EDI standards promote systemic change and take the guesswork out of creating an inclusive workplace,” he said.
“Improving diversity and inclusion in tech will better position Australia to address social challenges, and support more women and other underrepresented groups to accelerate their careers in our growing tech sector.”
The TCA collaborated with Project F to test the standards with council members.
Founder Emma Jones said there are two critical components to change: senior leadership teams recognising the need to invest in a long-term societal impact, and an easier and more accessible way to change the systems that allow for DEI.
“The T-EDI standards offer clear guidance and accountability, empowering companies to implement practical solutions to create and reap the benefits of a diverse and inclusive work environment,” she said.
“There is a monumental gap between the number of tech jobs and the number of qualified candidates available to fill them, so there is a national imperative to address the structural issues that have become ingrained in the culture of tech workplaces over decades and get more women into tech jobs, which are some of the most flexible on offer.”
Businesses can achieve varying levels of certification through compliance with the framework – from foundation to leading – across 10 markers including hiring practices, parental leave policies, pay transparency and flexible work.
While women account for 51% of the workforce, that figure plunges to just 28% in the white collar tech sector.
Earlier this year, the federal government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) report, revealed large gaps in pay between men and women at some of Australia’s leading tech companies, including among the Tech Council’s billionaire directors.
The TCA says the T-EDI standards will be independently governed by Project F’s Standards Advisory Council and a board of directors.
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