Tech Council, Project F launch new standards to boost diversity

The Tech Council of Australia (TCA) has released a new set of standards, based on six years of research from the founder of Project F, to improve diversity in the tech sector in a bid to create 600,000 jobs in the sector over the next five years.

Improving diversity in the tech workforce is one of the five pillars in the plan to achieve the TCA’s and Australian Government’s shared commitment of reaching 1.2 million tech jobs by 2030.

The T-EDI standards is an evidence-based certification framework enabling companies to assess their performance against 10 equity, diversity and inclusion standards and develop an action plan that addresses areas for improvement.

The 10 markers include hiring practices, parental leave policies, pay transparency and flexible work, facilitated by a an interactive platform designed to make the process of compliance and adoption seamless. Organisations use an app to undertake a series of self-assessments to ascertain their benchmark status and then access an action plan with a range of tools, data and resources.

With only 28 per cent of the tech workforce identifying as women compared to 51 per cent of the whole workforce, the council is urging the tech ecosystem to undertake additional coordinated action that builds on existing efforts by individual employers.

Project F founder Emma Jones says there are two critical components to change: one being senior leadership teams recognising the need to invest in a long-term societal impact, and the other being an easier and more accessible way to change the systems that allow for diversity, equity and inclusion.

"The T-EDI standards offer clear guidance and accountability, empowering companies to implement practical solutions to create and reap the benefits of a diverse and inclusive work environment,” Jones explains.

“There is a monumental gap between the number of tech jobs and the number of qualified candidates available to fill them, so there is a national imperative to address the structural issues that have become ingrained in the culture of tech workplaces over decades and get more women into tech jobs, which are some of the most flexible on offer.”

TCA CEO Damian Kassabgi says the launch of the T-EDI standards is an important milestone in the TCA’s work to foster greater diversity in the tech sector, which has been a priority for more than three years.

“The T-EDI standards promote systemic change and take the guesswork out of creating an inclusive workplace,” he says.

“Improving diversity and inclusion in tech will better position Australia to address social challenges, and support more women and other underrepresented groups to accelerate their careers in our growing tech sector.” 

The TCA ,in collaboration with Project F, has interrogated the standards with members through a testing process. TCA members Atlassian (NASDAQ: TEAM), Telstra (ASX: TLS), CyberCX, Accenture, PEXA (ASX: PXA) and Culture Amp, along with TCA partner Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA), have endorsed and adopted the standards internally. 

"We know Australia’s future prosperity will be heavily reliant on the tech industry and on our collective ability to develop and attract talent," says PEXA Group chief technology officer and TCA non-executive director Eglantine Etiemble.

"As a nation, we have been so far underperforming in making tech attractive across the workforce as only just a quarter of tech workers are female. This deprives us from much-needed talent and from the diversity of thinking we want to see reflected in the products and services we use."

She says the T-EDI standards give companies a clear and actionable framework to define what good looks like, embed equity and drive real progress.

"It provides, as well, great transparency to prospective employees and has the potential to create a differentiating value proposition as an employer," 

“PEXA has been focusing on lifting our diversity and inclusion over the past years with great success, moving from 21 per cent to 37 per cent female participation in our workforce in the past two years alone. The adoption of the T-EDI standards will help us continue raising the bar and ensuring that it is embedded in our practices,” Etiemble adds.
 
The standards will be independently governed by Project F’s Standards Advisory Council and a board of directors.