Staff EDI Resources and Professional Development

Staff EDI Resources and Professional Development

As a world-leading university, providing opportunities for education is a core responsibility Monash commits to as an organisation. It is also a core priority in the Monash University Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Framework 2022 - 2030 to 'enhance community knowledge to support equity, diversity and inclusion.'

Building knowledge on equity, diversity and inclusion means many things. It can refer to:

• developing your knowledge of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history
• supporting equitable and inclusive decision-making in everyday practice
• deepening understanding of our colleagues and students with different backgrounds and life experiences to our own
• understanding what disability is, how it may or may not affect work and study, and the legislative and other responsibilities we have to our staff and students living with a disability
• Preventing workplace harm and understanding what is a workplace harm under new legislation related to psychosocial safety

The Staff Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team have collated these resources and professional development opportunities in response to staff feedback regarding ease of access. If you or your team requires specialist advice on Staff Equity, Diversity or Inclusion or advice on professional development for your team, please contact staff-equity@monash.edu

Topics available for Professional Development

• Cultural safety, cultural competence and anti-racism
• Disability inclusion and accessibility
• Equitable decision-making
• Gender equity
• LGBTIQA+ and Rainbow Communities
• Neurodiversity and neurodivergence
• Parents and carers
• Psychosocial risk
• Preventing harm and promoting respectful workplaces

Cultural safety, cultural competence and anti-racism

Ensuring that our staff feel safe, understood, and supported actively by their colleagues, and Monash as an institution, is the importance behind this suite of training.

Cultural competence is when individuals have formed a personal awareness of how to respectfully interact with people from diverse cultures.

Anti-racism is understanding the framework of structural racism and biases that perpetuate inequity in our society and institution, and work actively to challenge and reform these systems.

Cultural safety in Australia usually refers to creating an environment that is safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This means there is no assault, challenge or denial of their identity and experience. Cultural safety, though individually experienced, requires institutional support through anti-racism actions and structural reform, and the education of staff to support their individual anti-racism capability and accountability.

See Monash's strong institutional commitment to anti-racism action here

Disability inclusion and accessibility

Disability is a normal part of human diversity. Disability may be permanent, temporary or fluctuating, and may have a minimal or substantial impact on a person's life. Disability may impact mobility, learning, sensory processing or communication and can result from a range of factors including accident, illness or genetic factors.

One in five Australians live with a disability, and it is crucial that Monash develop the capacity of all our staff to enable our colleagues living with a disability to thrive in the workplace.

Equitable decision-making

The ways that we make decisions matters. Equitable decision-making promotes fairness, equal opportunity and seeks to eliminate unconscious bias and foster a diversity of perspectives.

In promotion and recruitment, it enhances staff understanding of inclusive selection and equitable assessments, ensuring that our processes do not exclude excellent candidates due to unconscious, or any other type, of bias.

Gender equity

Monash runs a range of gender equity programs for women. These vary from year to year as we provide evidence-based programs, and consider the needs-based timing carefully. These programs are in line with University strategies, including the Gender Equality Action Plan. See Monash Gender Equity for more information.

Examples include: Advancing Women’s Success Grant, Senior Women’s Leadership, Empowering Women from Diverse Communities, Amplifying women’s promotion success, and grant writing.

LGBTIQA+ and Rainbow Communities

Monash has worked, and continues to work hard, to cultivate a University that celebrates the diversity of all our communities, and not only actively welcomes Rainbow Communities, but creates environments that enable all LGBTIQA+ people to thrive.

One of the best ways to enable our communities to thrive is through education. Educating yourself about the LGBTIQA+ community creates a university where staff and students feel understood and seen, and creates a space where the community can and is celebrated, rather than marginalised through misunderstanding.

Neurodiversity and neurodivergence

Learning about the different ways that people in our organisation and community think and process information is vital. It drives improvements to Monash’s workplaces and processes so that all staff are able to thrive in a workplace that works for everyone, and celebrates diversity as a strength.

Parents and carers

Psychosocial risk

Preventing harm and promoting respectful workplaces