Image: John Piggott AO
Words by John Piggott AO, CEPAR Director and Scientia Professor of Economics at UNSW Business School
Diversity is at the heart of the society we live in. Diversity in ageing is just one manifestation of our heterogeneous community, but of course one in which CEPAR has a keen research interest. Later this year, CEPAR researchers Tom Wilson and Jeromey Temple will lead a Symposium on Diversity in Ageing, accompanied by a research brief on the issue. It will present new research on population and individual ageing, including Indigenous ageing, migrant ageing, LGBQ ageing, regional and remote ageing, as well as dementia and diversity, to understand how acknowledging diversity in ageing can improve policy outcomes in Australia.
But it is important to recognise that diversity brings with it challenges of equity and inclusion which need to be addressed in the conduct of organisations. A couple of years ago, Anne Gordon, CEPAR’s Director of Operations, spearheaded the introduction of the Centre’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) network. Initially led by CEPAR Chief Investigator Marian Baird, and now co-directed by Marian and CEPAR Deputy Director Kaarin Anstey, and supported by a network of nine ED&I Champions based at all CEPAR’s university nodes, this is now a major plank in our Governance structure.
The team has developed an EDI Policy outlining how CEPAR supports these concepts in practice and encourages greater equity and inclusion for diverse individuals, including Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other First Nations peoples; culturally, linguistically, or racially diverse individuals; people who are diverse in terms of gender, sex, or sexuality (LGBTIQ+); people of diverse abilities, and of course, people of diverse ages. The Australian Research Council’s Mid-Term Review also focused on these activities, and made various suggestions for further development, which we are incorporating into the conduct of the Centre. At our most recent annual workshop, Lisa Sarago, CEO, Goanna Solutions, presented on Diversity & Inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Australian Research and Workplaces. Her presentation focussed on the benefits of being inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in research and provided guiding principles for Australian workplaces, including universities.
ED&I resources that may be of interest are available on our EDI webpage, and also in this newsletter edition.