PURPOSE
This policy outlines Global Leadership Institute’s (GLI) diversity and equity principles, which supports GLI’s values and promotes best practice in education and employment, in accordance with legislative and regulatory obligations. This includes supporting accessibility of online information and resources for students and staff, and to support participation of students with a disability.
DEFINITIONS
- Diversity encompasses the understanding that each individual’s lived experience is unique and that a person may identify by using one or more of the following attributes: sex; race; age; colour; national or ethnic origin; martial or relationship status; pregnancy or potential pregnancy; breastfeeding; political conviction; religious conviction; impairment; need for carers; assistance animals and disability aids, family responsibility or family status; gender; gender identity; intersex status; sexual orientation; gender history.
- Equity is the quality of being fair and impartial.
- Equality Is treating everyone the same. Equality of opportunity is about ensuring everybody has an equal chance to take up opportunities and to make full use of the opportunities on offer and to fulfill their potential.
- Online includes digital resources and computer-based educational technology.
- Disability: is defined broadly under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 as any physical, sensory, neurological, intellectual, psychiatric or learning disability, and includes physical disfigurement, the presence in the body of disease-causing organisms and total or partial loss of part of the body or a bodily function. It also includes a temporary, permanent, current, past or future disability, and chronic health conditions which may not commonly be considered disabilities.
- Reasonable Adjustments: an action or actions taken by an education provider to assist a student with a disability in accessing and participating in a course on the same basis as a student without a disability.
- Under-represented and Disadvantaged Subgroups: identified people from historically disadvantaged and/or under-represented subgroups, include: First Nations Peoples; people with a disability; people from low socio-economic backgrounds; people from remote, rural or isolated areas; people who are the first in their family to attend a higher educational institution; people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; people with gender, sex, and sexual diversities; under-representation of women in senior positions; and people with caring responsibilities.
PRINCIPLES
GLI community will support the equity and diversity principles of Right, Opportunity, Recognition, and Inclusion (ROTI) within the workplace, research, teaching, learning, engagement, and management practices:
- Right – each member of GLI has the right to be treated with respect, equality, and dignity, and to be able to participate in all aspects of GLE life on an equal footing.
- Opportunity – GLI will provide equitable opportunity for individuals to access and advance in employment and education.
- Recognition – GLI will be recognised and valued for its diversity. Additionally, the significance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the nation’s First Peoples is to be acknowledged.
- Inclusion – the local, national, and global community will be reflected within the GLI community by attracting and retaining staff and students from a broad range of backgrounds.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY
The President, Academic Dean, Director Human Resources, and Program Directors are responsible for monitoring policy compliance and improvement. The Academic Dean will coordinate, monitor, review, and report to Academic Board student-focused efforts to progress diversity and equity within GLI. All other areas will report diversity and equity metrics to meet regulatory reporting requirements.
GLI will monitor the admission, participation, progression, and completion of under-represented and disadvantaged subgroups through regular reports tabled to Academic Board and its subcommittees. These reviews include recommended revisions for improvement and effectiveness of subsequent implementation of those revisions. The nature and extent of GLI’s academic and support strategies are informed by student data and by the needs of identified subgroups.
GLI staff and management will ensure that equity and diversity principles are reflected in education and employment within the Institute in the following ways:
- GLI staff will ensure the absence of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and violence;
- GLI management will foster a culture that embraces equity in employment, education, and research with a focus on gender equity and First Nations Peoples inclusion;
- GLI managers will continually review their employment practices including recruitment, retention, performance management, promotions, and identification of high potentials, succession planning, training and development, resignations, key performance indicators for managers, and remuneration; to avoid discrimination and bias;
- GLI decision-making bodies will encourage the participation of people from diverse backgrounds if this does not result in unjustifiable hardship for GLI;
- Students and staff will communicate in ways that are inclusive and reflect GLI’s commitment to valuing diversity;
- GLI will proactively build diversity and equity considerations into all relevant student engagement, administration, and management processes and activities;
- student support staff will deliver targeted programs and activities to support diversity and equity outcomes for students.
ACCESSIBILITY AND DISABILITY
GLI is committed to:
- monitoring of accessibility compliance to ensure standardisation where possible;
- promoting accessibility practices throughout the Institute community;
- informing students about how to register for disability support;
- processing applications for disability support in a timely manner and communicating the outcome clearly to students;
- maintaining student confidentiality and privacy;
Students seeking disability adjustments are responsible for:
- providing honest and true information with health professional documentation;
- registering for disability support, usually upon receiving a letter of offer;
- meeting with the Program Director to discuss accessibility arrangements;
- notifying the Unit Coordinator prior to commencement of the unit reasonable adjustments they wish for the relevant unit.
Appeals for Reasonable Adjustments
Where the student is not satisfied with reasonable adjustments made, the Student Grievance and Appeals Policy procedures can be followed.
Where internal resolution methods have been unsuccessful students can contact the Human Rights Commission. A further external complaint reporting option is the QLD Anti-Discrimination Commission.
Scope
Whole Institute
Key Stakeholder
All staff and students
PROCEDURES
GLI encourages diversity and equity by:
- developing and implementing programs and measures to improve access, participation, retention and success of students from under-represented and disadvantaged subgroups;
- developing and implementing programs and measures to improve access and outcomes for staff from under-represented groups;
- periodic monitoring and reviewing of diversity and equity performance;
- implementing induction and orientation strategies to ensure all staff and students know their rights and responsibilities.
Reporting
Academic Board periodically reviews policies and student data reports related to the student life cycle to ensure equal opportunity and inclusion are being appropriately maintained.
Executive Management Team periodically reviews policies and reports related to the staff employment life cycle to ensure systemic issues impacting equal opportunity and inclusion are addressed.
