Diversity Works New Zealand is the national body for workplace diversity, equity and inclusion.
Diversity — the differences between people, their characteristics, attributes and backgrounds, and the perspectives they bring.
Equity — fair outcomes for individuals belonging to diverse groups, achieved by addressing the barriers each of these groups face.
Inclusion — the ongoing exercise of valuing diverse groups by creating safe, welcoming and collaborative environments in which everyone can fully participate and thrive.
We exist to help organisations do workplace inclusion well, and do well because of it.
Our establishment as the Equal Opportunities Trust in 1992 was an acknowledgment by leaders in the public and private sectors that the world of work was changing. The immediate need, at the time, was research and training to build skills in organisations to manage an increasingly diverse talent pool.
Since then, we have been sustained by a unique partnership between government and employers.
Over time, we have seen consistent and steady improvement in the maturity of the disciplines and practice related to the development of inclusive organisational cultures. More recently we have seen an ever-escalating global intolerance of inequities and systemic barriers to equality in our society.
Today we strive to contribute positively to workplace cultures of inclusion through our mahi with more than 700 members organisations of all types and sizes, all around the mōtu. We do this through three strategic pillars:
- Knowledge – we act as New Zealand’s authority focused on increasing the depth of knowledge on issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion in New Zealand.
- Collaboration - we connect stakeholders in the diversity ecosystem into a framework that creates a movement for change in New Zealand.
- Engagement - we enable businesses to unlock the value of diversity for economic and social prosperity through a range of quality products and services supporting inclusion.
As part of our mandate to build and promote workplace diversity and inclusion, Diversity Works New Zealand recognises the following designated groups as groups in the community that may be disadvantaged by inequality of opportunity in all forms of paid employment. These groups were reviewed by the Board of Diversity Works New Zealand in December 2021.
- women
- Māori
- Pacific Island people
- people from any ethnic minority
- people with physical disabilities
- people with mental disabilities
- SOGIESC-diverse communities, including people with a diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics
- people with neurodiversities
- people facing age discrimination (young workers and older workers)
- people facing discrimination based on religion
