Category: d&i

d&i, Diversity & Inclusion, sssdln news

It’s time to establish a baseline in diversity and inclusion within the Space, Spatial and Surveying sectors of Australia and New Zealand

Participation is being sought from all professionals working in the space, spatial and surveying sectors across government, academia and business to take part in the Diversity Council Australia’s Inclusion@Work Index.

We don’t have an exact figure on workforce numbers for the space, spatial and surveying sectors, but we’ve estimated as many as 25,000 professionals working across Australia and New Zealand. We’re aiming to reach 40% to get the most representative snapshot possible of our current state. But we’ll need your help. So please get involved and share this far and wide with your networks.  

The questionnaire will be open for four weeks from 17 August until 14 September 2021 and it takes a maximum of 15 minutes to complete.  

We are specifically seeking responses from all individuals who work, study or participate in the space, spatial or surveying sector – that is, men and women, people from all cultural backgrounds, people without and with a disability.  We need everyone in our industry to participate. It’s only from hearing from all segments that we can really understand our current state.

Respondents are being asked to select the sector they work in in order to benchmark and compare best practice between the business, government and academic sectors. 

A public report will be developed that provides an evidence base for the industry to understand key trends and opportunities to promote inclusive workplaces. The report will be released towards the end of 2021.  

Check out the website for frequently asked questions and a toolkit of campaign resources that will aid anyone wishing to get involved in promoting participation in the index either within their organisations or to their wider networks. 

d&i, Diversity & Inclusion, Uncategorized

Diversity and inclusion baseline for the space, spatial and surveying sectors will be powered by Diversity Council Australia

15 June 2021

Evidence for the space, spatial and surveying industry to diversify their workforce and measure the impact of existing strategies is closer than ever.

A partnership has been brokered which will allow the entire space, spatial and surveying workforce to benefit from Diversity Council Australia’s Inclusion@Work Index.

The index, which aims to map and track the state of inclusion within the Australian workforce, has been developed in consultation with an expert panel of practitioners and academics. Every two years, Australian organisations are invited to participate in the index, enabling them to measure diversity and inclusion in their workforce and compare findings with other participating organisations.

The Inclusion@Work Index covers three broad areas:  

1. Experience of inclusion at work (e.g., team inclusion, inclusive leadership, inclusive/exclusive behaviours, awareness and support of organisational d&i activity)  

2. Diversity demographics (e.g., aboriginal and/or torres strait islander background, age, caring responsibilities, cultural background, disability status, gender identity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation)  

3. Impact of inclusion (e.g., effectiveness, innovation, customer service, discretionary effort, job satisfaction, turnover intention)  

Participation will be sought  from all professionals working in the SSS sectors across  government, academia and business.

The questionnaire will be issued by email invitation to 10,000 individuals through the existing communication channels of the partnering peak associations.

It will launch on 9 August. The questionnaire takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. 

How can you get involved?

Are you a senior leader who can act as champion within your organisation? Or do you have a communication’s team who could use a toolkit of resources to drive participation?

Email diversity@agenda2026.com  with the contact details of your organisation’s champion or communications lead and we will be in touch very soon.

Attributable quote

“While we don’t have an exact figure on workforce numbers for the space, spatial and surveying sectors, the steering committee have estimated as many as 25,000 professionals working across Australia and New Zealand.  Our aim is to reach 40% of our professionals and invite them to participate in the 2021 Inclusion@Work Index. “

Amelia Davies,
Chair of the research steering committee,
a sub-group of the, Space, Spatial & Surveying Diversity Leadership Network 

  • Australian and New Zealand Land Information Council (ANZLIC)
  • Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI)
  • The Spatial Industries Business Association (SIBA) and Geospatial Information & Technology Association ANZ (GITA)
  • Consulting Surveyors National (CSN) and, 
  • Earth Observation Australia (EOA)
  • Space, Spatial and Surveying Diversity Leadership Network (SSS-DLN)
  • Survey and Spatial New Zealand (S & SNZ)
  • Women in Spatial

Diversity Council Australia (DCA) is the independent not-for-profit peak body leading diversity and inclusion in the workplace.  For more information on the methodology visit https://www.dca.org.au/inclusion-at-work-index/methodology 

d&i, Diversity & Inclusion

Welcoming a new Conveners Group and Research Working Group members

It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to our new Conveners Group for the Space, Surveying and Spatial Diversity Leadership Network (SSS-DLN):

  • Amelia Davies, Director Land Information & Spatial Services, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (Vic)
  • Kellie Dean, Principal Surveyor, Spiire
  • Matt Duckham, A/Dean STEMM Diversity and Inclusion, RMIT University
  • Maurits van der Vlugt, Director, Mercury Project Solutions
  • Roshni Sharma, Project Manager and Analyst, FrontierSI

The new SSS-DLN Convener Group bring to the table an impressive and diverse range of background disciplines and a wealth of experiences and knowledge to help guide the direction and strategic priorities for the network and I’m sure you will join me in thanking them for their commitment to greater diversity and more inclusive workplaces for our sectors.

I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Eva Rodriguez-Rodriguez, outgoing convener, for her contribution to the SSS-DLN since it was formed in 2018. Eva has put in a lot of personal time and effort to promote the work of the SSS-DLN and should be very proud of the in-roads we have made, particularly her advocacy for greater inclusion of the space sector in this work. We wish Eva all the best for the impending arrival of her second baby and this important next chapter in her life.

I’m also pleased to announce three independent representatives from SSS-DLN who will be joining Michelle Blicavs, Consulting Surveyors National, Jane Albiston, Survey and Spatial New Zealand, Tony Wheeler, Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute, Jacinta Burns, SIBA/GITA and myself (representing ANZLIC) to take forward development of a trans-Tasman survey that measures diversity and inclusion within our sectors and a public report that provides an evidence base for businesses and individuals within the industry to establish their own cases for diversifying their workforce:

  1. Nicholas Brown, Director of National Geodesy at Geoscience Australia (Independent member from SSS-DLN)
  2. Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia, Associate Professor and Discipline Lead of the Spatial Sciences, Curtin University (Independent member from SSS-DLN)
  3. Stuart Phinn, Professor University of Queensland/CRC SmartSAT (Independent member from SSS-DLN).

We look forward to providing you an update on this important work soon.

Finally, a big thank you also to everyone who put in an expression of interest. Creating a more diverse and inclusive sector is a tireless cause that requires many volunteers, advocates and champions and we sincerely hope we can call on you in the future to support this important work.

On behalf of the Convenors Group

Amelia (Chapman) Davies

The above message was shared with the Space, Spatial & Surveying Diversity Leaders Network (SSS-DLN) on the 26 November, 2020.