The Diversity Forum for Human Resources and equity practitioners continues to be hosted by the Director. This Forum presents, free of charge, interesting and informative sessions on equity and diversity issues in the public sector. Invitations are distributed across the State via the electronic bulletin board, PSWA Announce.

Strategies at Work 'An Employee's Perspective' – Thursday, 17 September 2009

This Forum launched the Strategies at Work series with five people who feature in this series sharing their real life stories. Each presenter’s story showcased good practice strategies that WA public sector agencies have in place to increase the workforce representation of women in management, people from culturally diverse backgrounds, Indigenous Australians, people with disabilities, and youth.

Michael Palermo, the acting Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment, (DEOPE) opened the forum to the 100 attendees, introducing each person in more detail prior to their individual presentation.

Employing Youth – Public Transport Authority

Brydon Wang, Project Manager, Facilities and Projects, from the Public Transport Authority spoke about his experience participating in the Graduate Program at this authority and provided useful insight about the ways such programs can be structured to provide the most benefits to both the employer and the participating graduates.

People from Culturally Diverse Backgrounds – WA Police

Shehaam Kirsten, Adult Trainee, WA Police spoke about her journey embarking on the WA Police’s Adult Traineeship, particularly focussing on the benefits she had gained.

Employing People with Disabilities – Animal Resource Centre

Gillian Greaves, Trainee Animal Technician, Animal Resource Centre, and Sophie Neale, Gillian’s supervisor from the Autism Association of WA. Both spoke about Gillian’s Animal Technology Traineeship and the initiatives that the Animal Resource Centre, the Autism Association, and Gillian had all taken to help facilitate Gillian’s successful employment relationship.

Recruitment and Retention of Indigenous Australians – Department of Treasury and Finance

Chanel Fordham spoke about her work as an Administration Officer, Building Management and Works, with the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF). Chanel provided an insight into her own personal and work experiences undertaking DTF’s Indigenous Traineeship.

Women in Management – Challenger TAFE

Liz Harris, Managing Director, Challenger TAFE spoke about her achievements as a woman in a Managing Director role and the strategies implemented to promote women in management.

Michael concluded the Forum by thanking each of the presenters, all the organisations that feature in the Strategies at Work series, and the OEEO team who organised the forum.

More information about the Strategies at Work series can be found on the Guides and Resources page. The next Forum will be held on 3 December 2009 and will focus on the recruitment and retention of Indigenous Australians.

Employing People with Disabilities, Thursday, 18 June 2009

This Forum focused on promoting successful strategies to increase the representation of people with disabilities in the Western Australian public sector.

The forum took a new direction and opened with the launch of the Supported Work Team (SWT) dvd followed by a panel discussion with those featured in the dvd. The SWT documentary showcases the benefits of employing people with disabilities in a structured team environment.

75 attendees participated and interacted with the panel who answered questions on their experiences with a SWT. The panel comprised of representatives from the University of Western Australia, the Public Sector Commission and South Metropolitan Personnel. See the full article on the SWT dvd in this edition.

The second part of the forum focused on disability employment network providers and included presentations from Disability Works Australia, EDGE Employment Solutions and the City of Wanneroo.

Michael Palermo, the acting Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment (DEOPE) opened the Forum. Michael provided an overview of the representation of people with disabilities in the public sector over the last five years. He highlighted the positive change that has occurred towards achieving increased representation of this diversity group. Michael also provided the background on the Supported Work Team initiative.

You can view the Supported Work Team documentary here (Flash movie, 44.7MB).

Maree Jones from Disability Works Australia (DWA) provided an overview of the support DWA provide to disability employment network providers and employers.

You can view a copy of Maree’s presentation here.

The next presentation was from Will Beresford, Edge Employment Solutions. Will discussed the advantages for employers and employees using a disability employment network provider.

You can view a copy of Will’s presentation here.

The final presentation was from Kathy Christoffelsz, City of Wanneroo. Kathy presented on the benefits of and experience in employing people with a disability through the support of a disability employment network provider.

You can read a copy of Kathy’s presentation here.

Michael concluded the Forum by thanking the panel, the presenters and the agencies that had provided publications and brochures for the event. Michael also thanked the OEEO team for organising the Forum.

Attendees were encouraged to contact the OEEO if they require further assistance in developing strategies to increase representation for the diversity groups.

Women in Management, Thursday 19 March 2009

This Forum focused on promoting successful strategies that organisations have implemented to increase the representation of women in management in the Western Australian public sector.

90 attendees listened to presentations on strategies in the public sector designed to assist to improve the representation of women in management. Attendees also heard personal experiences shared by women who are in management positions in the public sector.

The morning's program included presentations from the Department of Education and Training (DET), the University of Western Australia (UWA), the Department of Local Government and Regional Development (DLGRD) and the Serpentine Jarrahdale Shire. Rebecca Harris, Director of Public Sector Improvement at the Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner (OPSSC) also shared practice improvement strategies to encourage and support women in management.

Michael Palermo, the acting Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment (DEOPE) opened the Forum. Michael set the scene in relation to equity and diversity results for the public sector - as reported in the DEOPE's Annual Report 2008. Michael highlighted the positive change that has occurred towards achieving increased representation of women in management. Michael also provided an overview of the public authority demographic data for women.

Keryl Gorton gave the first presentation on DET's “Women in Leadership” strategy. Following this, Julie Bettenay from DET shared with the audience her a personal journey on her pathway to management in the education sector.

You can read a copy of Keryl's presentation here.

The next presentation was from Rebecca Harris from OPSSC. Rebecca discussed the Public Sector Standards and practical assistance the OPSSC provides to agencies to encourage and support women in management.

You can read a copy of Rebecca's presentation here.

The following presentation was from Beverley Hill from UWA. Beverley talked about UWA's Women in Management strategy developed for positioning women in leadership. Then, Dr Julia Wilson from Future Farm Industries UWA provided the audience with her personal journey to management in a research environment.

You can read a copy of Beverley's presentation here.

The next presentation was from Virginia Scott, DLGRD. Virginia provided the audience with an overview of the work the Advisory Committee on Women in Local Government is doing to assist with increasing the representation of women in management in the public sector. The final presentation of the Forum was from Joanne Abbiss, CEO, Serpentine Jarrahdale Shire who shared with the audience her personal journey to the top of the rank in the local government sector.

You can read a copy of Virginia's presentation here.

Michael concluded the Forum by thanking the presenters and the agencies that had provided publications and brochures for the event. Michael also thanked the OEEO team for organising the Forum.

Attendees were encouraged to contact the OEEO if they require further assistance in developing strategies to increase representation for the diversity groups.