3 Inspiring Stories of Diversity in the Workplace

CARLY O’BRIEN AIMM, RELATIONSHIP BUILDER

Carly O’Brien AIMM is an emerging indigenous leader. A descendant of the Mandandanji people in south-west Queensland who now lives on the Sunshine Coast, O’Brien juggles roles as an indigenous employment coordinator and team leader in the Oodgeroo Unit at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The unit’s goal is to create better access to university education and employment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“It’s a real passion for me and I hope that throughout my work life I will continue to fight for that,” O’Brien says.

Named on the 2015 AIM30 list, which is made up of 30 outstanding managers aged under 30, O’Brien’s résumé includes working in the recruitment and oil and gas industries in London. Now back on home soil, she is pleased that institutions such as QUT are giving indigenous people an employment break and calls on other organisations to follow suit.

“For me, it’s really comforting to know that there is a genuine interest in connecting and collaborating and seeking alternative ideas.”

O’Brien’s management style is all about building relationships with stakeholders. Armed with a business degree from the University of the Sunshine Coast, she is doing an online MBA through AIM Education & Training and has no doubt that education is the key to a better future of indigenous Australians, along with more entry-level work opportunities.

“It’s really to get that foot in the door,” says O’Brien, who believes young Aboriginal professionals are poised to play an increasing role in the workplace as Australia deals with an ageing population.

While there is still a place for “positive discrimination” to give diverse workers a job chance, O’Brien hopes the framework for indigenous employment evolves.

“I’m really looking forward to the day when our people can walk into whatever position they want and that they’re there on merit.”

HAROLD HILLMAN, GAY RIGHTS ROLE MODEL

Life seemed perfect for Harold Hillman – married with children, Harvard degree, devoted churchgoer and a celebrated military career. Except he was living a lie.

“I was an imposter,” says Hillman, a gay African-American man living a straight man’s life who, in 1989, lied to get into the US military when it was still illegal for homosexuals to serve. “I went to an extreme to not disturb the social order. I had a lot of medals on my chest and yet I was a very hollow person.”

Now living in New Zealand and working as a coach for senior business leaders and executive teams, Hillman developed a passion for leadership development while teaching at the US Air Force Academy. In a great irony, he was an adviser – before coming out – on President Bill Clinton’s commission to overturn the ban on gays being able to serve in the military.

Gains have been significant on gay rights in the workplace, according to Hillman, but he says language around diversity still requires change, including words such as ‘tolerance’.

“The more appropriate word is respect. Tolerance means I’m putting up with you because the law says I have to.”

Hillman’s new book, Fitting In, Standing Out, explains how it is advisable for marginalised employees to fit in with a team in the workplace before standing out from the group. He explains: “People will give you more room to stand out if they perceive that you are building something with them versus flipping them off and saying, ‘You idiots don’t get it’.”

Hillman believes his early life of denial is a lesson for young gay people – and business leaders grappling with diversity policies and creating an inclusive culture.

“My message to young people is, ‘Don’t let it get to that point’, and my message to CEOs and senior executives is, ‘Don’t let people get to the point where they are compromising on who they are’.”

DRISANA LEVITZKE-GRAY ADVOCATE FOR THE DEAF

Drisana Levitzke-Gray has a message for the public and employers: it is okay to be deaf.

The 2015 Young Australian of the Year has won acclaim as an advocate for the human rights of deaf people and raising awareness of Auslan, the sign language used by the Australian deaf community. Many deaf children are discouraged from learning a sign language because it can be seen by hearing-enabled parents as a confirmation of the child’s disability. That can have a lasting, negative impact on their education and social development.

“Far too many deaf children in Australia are growing up without a linguistic identity, don’t have the deaf role models they need and [are] not being encouraged to use Auslan when they should,” Levitzke-Gray says.

The inspirational Perth woman is the fifth generation in her family to be born deaf and believes she is lucky to be surrounded by people who pass down their culture. “They have always shown me how to be proud of myself, my language, culture and history.”

Business leaders also have a role to play, according to Levitzke-Gray, by giving people with a disability the same support as others. Work opportunities are a start.

“People with disability often bring something extra into the workforce, which is incredibly invaluable for many organisations and businesses”, Levitzke-Gray says. “We have a social responsibility to treat everyone equally and to support each other to grow and to succeed.”

Levitzke-Gray is clearly a role model. In 2014, she became the first deaf Auslan user to fulfil her civic duty as a juror. For others with a disability who may be struggling to make their mark, she offers words of hope. “There is absolutely nothing stopping us.”