The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) has launched a new resource on the APS Academy website to support service-wide efforts to foster a diverse and inclusive public service.
April marks two years since the launch of the APS Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Employment Strategy and Action Plan, designed to improve culturally diverse representation at senior levels, build culturally safe APS workplaces and uplift cultural capability across the service.
Across the APS, progress has been made in supporting cultural diversity; however, representation of CALD staff at the Senior Executive Service (SES) level continues to vary across agencies, highlighting the importance of a sustained and service-wide effort.
Many Cultures, One APS is a video series sharing the lived experience of APS CALD staff and is designed to support APS-wide initiatives to improve inclusion and belonging for all APS employees.
These real-life stories of the triumphs and challenges of APS CALD staff will inform, inspire, spark curiosity and engender empathy – and get people thinking about their own behaviours and responses.
The project draws on neuroscientific research which tells us that storytelling is a powerful tool to build emotional connection, create empathy and foster trust.
The APSC is sharing communication campaign resources to HR teams across the APS. Please use your networks within your agency to help ensure all staff have visibility of this project and your fellow leaders understand the value it offers agencies in developing and implementing their CALD action plans.
APS CALD SES Champion Jim Betts has shared a message about the importance of these stories.
It is suitable for all staff and supports headline actions from the APS CALD Employment Strategy, such as building cultural awareness and cultural literacy.
Importantly, senior leaders have a responsibility to foster culturally safe workplaces and intervene to address unacceptable behaviours within their teams. These stories offer valuable lessons to support that responsibility.
How can you help?
Encourage your staff to watch the Many Cultures, One APS videos on APSLearn, share them within teams and use the reflection resources to start practical conversations that strengthen cultural safety, inclusion and belonging across the APS.
Directors and managers can use this resource as part of their toolkit to help their teams create an environment where all staff feel a sense of belonging and inclusion in the workplace. The resource includes guidance on how teams can have safe conversations about the content in this series.
Many Cultures, One APS is available and free to all public servants through APSLearn: