An inclusive workplace

At SBS, we are incredibly diverse. But diversity unharnessed is just a collection of people who are different. Diversity harnessed delivers inclusion, and when we are all included, we all benefit.

In this article

SBS Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Strategy

SBS launched its current three-year Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Strategy in February 2022 to work towards our goal of being a best-in-class inclusive employer with a focus on providing employment programs, employee-led policies and practices that drive greater inclusion in the workplace.

The SBS Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Strategy spans a three-year period from February 2022 through to December 2024. The strategy outlines our vision for a diverse and inclusive workplace, our key focus areas and goals, as well as the initiatives and actions we will take in the next three years to achieve our vision.

This strategy builds upon the work delivered under the SBS Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2018-2021 and has been developed with input from our employees and external specialist partners.

SBS is committed to transparency around its activities and performance and being accountable for delivering on its commitments. Progress against actions and plans are shared with all SBS employees, and SBS also publishes regular updates on this website, in addition to its annual report.

 

Employee Advisory Groups

At the core of SBS’s Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Strategy are our Employee Advisory Groups (EAG), empowering our people to take an active role in fostering an inclusive culture for all.

Current groups include:

Ngarra, focused on the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees.

SBS Multi, focused on multicultural and multifaith inclusion.

SBS Access, focused on the experiences of employees with disabilities.

The Network, focused on gender equity.

SBS Pride & Allies, focused on LGBTIQ+ inclusion.

Each group works with external experts to inform their strategies and approach, and come together every eight weeks, in a meeting chaired by the SBS Managing Director, known as the SBS Inclusion Council. Each group shares updates on activities, contributes proposals for the development and delivery of the Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Strategy, and the outcomes from this meeting are shared with SBS employees.

Fundamental to the EAG model, and our commitment to inclusion at SBS, are principles which ensure that intersectional perspectives are included in internal events, initiatives and activities, that the groups themselves are diverse and that any employee, regardless of background or identity, may participate fully.

Indigenous Employment and the SBS Reconciliation Action Plan

SBS launched our first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2008, demonstrating our commitment to supporting national efforts to close the gap and increase understanding between our nation’s First Peoples and the wider Australian community. It provides us with a plan setting clear and measurable goals and targets for us to achieve including strengthening recruitment and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees.

Guided by our RAP, SBS is committed to supporting greater representation and inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across our workforce through a range of actions and initiatives. These include:

  • In 2021, SBS launched its Elder-in-Residence program recognising the intrinsic value of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and perspectives, designed through an Indigenous-led process and informed by internal and external consultation. The inaugural Elder-in-Residence appointed is eminent community and industry leader, Rhoda Roberts AO, a proud Widjabul Wiabul woman from the Bundjalung nation.
  • Partnering with Indigenous-owned and operated organisation, BlackCard, to deliver cultural capability training for all SBS employees.
  • Partnering with CareerTrackers, an organisation that pairs Indigenous university students with organisations for paid summer internships over the course of their study, to provide placements throughout the organisation. In 2020 SBS has committed to seven paid Indigenous intern placements.
  • At least one identified position for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander journalists in the SBS News and Current Affairs Cadetship Program each year.

During National Reconciliation Week 2022 SBS launched its Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan 2022-2026 outlining its commitment to increasing the prominence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories and perspectives, including delivering more First Nations content in more than 60 languages across the network. Read more here.