Industrial and Safety - Diversity and inclusion

Industrial and Safety embraces diversity and strives to create inclusive work environments, with particular attention to gender balance, and the engagement and employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

As part of its inclusive and varied approach to celebrating diversity with team members, each business unit maintains an annual schedule of events, including NAIDOC Week, National Reconciliation Week, International Women’s Day, Sydney Mardi Gras and Wear It Purple Day.

Gender representation in leadership roles has remained stable at approximately 30 per cent female. During the year, Greencap produced blogs and videos and used LinkedIn Learning to educate its teams on the impacts of gender bias and how to support and empower women at work. NZ Safety Blackwoods is in the process of applying for the Gender Tick, an external benchmark highlighting its focus on gender representation.

Indigenous team members account for three per cent of the division’s Australian workforce and Indigenous supplier spend totalled more than $7.1 million for the year. Blackwoods released its financial year 2022 to 2024 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategy and Plan outlining actions, expectations and measures in support of the Wesfarmers Reconciliation Action Plan. The business also introduced the Woomera Award to its Supplier Awards program, recognising outstanding performance by an Indigenous-owned partner.

The onboarding of three additional First Nations-owned recruitment partners bolstered the pool of candidates at Blackwoods, along with increased overall opportunity due to labour shortages. The division was pleased to send two team members to join the first cohort completing the Wesfarmers Indigenous Leadership Program, which was held in the latter part of the year.