Celebrating Inclusivity and Cultural Diversity during this year’s Harmony Week

The Telstra Health team is comprised of people from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds and heritages. We are committed to not only acknowledging inclusivity, cultural diversity and respect, but in celebrating this and creating a sense of belonging for every employee.  

In an opportunity to both recognise and celebrate inclusivity and cultural diversity across the whole team, during this year’s Harmony Week (celebrated between Monday 21 March and Sunday 27 March), Telstra Health’s Diversity, Inclusion and Social Capital Committee (DISCC) hosted an all-staff event to open the discussion about key topics and themes raised during the awareness week.

Hosted by our Head of People and Talent, Emma Brennan, employees from Telstra Health and Telstra from across a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds participated in a panel discussion in which they shared their insights and personal experiences on how we can ensure that the language we use, and the actions we demonstrate and stand by, have inclusivity and culturally sensitivity at the forefront.

Telstra Health employees Himanshu Desai, Head of Engineering, Technology, Innovation & Analytics (of Indian heritage) and Kevin Thang, Data Quality Health Information Manager (identifies as Australian-Chinese), Population Health Solutions and Anita Brizuela, Product Specialist, Virtual Care Solutions (of Filipino-Australian heritage) were joined by Anna Chin, MOSAIC Lead at Telstra (of Chinese heritage) for a discussion on the importance of inclusive language and behaviours.

As part of our commitment to fostering a culture that celebrates inclusivity and encourages cultural diversity, Telstra Health recently rolled out an Inclusive Language Resource for all employees. The Resource is an opportunity for employees to understand the use and importance of culturally inclusive language.

Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world with 2016 Census Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing that nearly half (49%) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was. In addition, since 1945 more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia, and more than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia, with Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi the most common languages spoken in Australia aside from the English language.

At Telstra Health it’s important that we continue to celebrate multiculturalism and show one another the respect we deserve, both inside and outside of the workplace, and Harmony Week is a timely reminder to reflect on whether we are doing just that.