Peak diversity body doubles down on defending D&I

Posted on 08 Apr 2025

By Greg Thom, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia

It’s fair to say the concept of diversity and inclusion (D&I) at work has been under siege of late.

The war on D&I by US President Donald Trump (and to a lesser extent Peter Dutton) has prompted some companies to reassess their commitment to such policies in the workplace.

Rather than withdraw from the field of battle, however, Diversity Council Australia (DCA) has continued to advocate for the benefits of workplace inclusion and diversity.

As part of those efforts, DCA recently launched D&I Data at Work, a new set of guidelines to help employers effectively collect, interpret and use workforce diversity data to create more inclusive workplaces.

Many experts believe measuring diversity ensures disparities aren’t overlooked and helps break down barriers to inclusion.

DCA’s Change at Work research, however, found nearly half of D&I practitioners rarely use internal data.

“Our members are increasingly asking us how they can best collect D&I data and how they can use it to make their workplaces more equitable for all employees.”

Diversity Council Australia CEO Catherine Hunter.

DCA CEO Catherine Hunter said D&I policies and procedures were a powerful driver of workplace inclusion.

“It highlights inequities, informs policies, and tracks progress to pinpoint areas for improvement,” she said.

“Our members are increasingly asking us how they can best collect D&I data and how they can use it to make their workplaces more equitable for all employees.”

Despite these good intentions, Hunter said many organisations struggle with what diversity questions to ask their employees, how to measure inclusion, and how to use their data to drive meaningful change.

“This new guide fills that gap, providing practical steps to ensure D&I data collection is respectful, safe, and impactful.”

Hunter said the new workplace D&I guide built on DCA’s 2022 report D&I 101: Collecting diversity data, which sets out a four-step framework to support data-driven decision making.

The report also aligns with DCA’s Inclusive Employer Index, designed to help organisations make sense of the data they collect.