1. Why is leadership for cultural diversity important?

2. Why is cultural diversity important
Australia is home to many different cultures and languages
Government, business and the community sector need to be responsive to the communities they serve
Organisations that understand diversity are stronger and more customer focussed
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3. Why does leadership matter?
The most important contribution a CEO can make towards meaningfully social progress within and outside an organisation is committing to a purpose and set of values, then drive change.
Leaders drive the culture of the organisation
Leaders are responsible for driving service delivery
Leaders model appropriate behavior for an organisation

4. What does NSW look like?
27.6% of the NSW population were born overseas
This is or over 2 million people
25% of people in NSW speak a language other than English at home
This is almost 2 million people
In Sydney this increases to 37% of the population born overseas
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5. Sydney snapshot – languages other than English at home
41%
60.2%
65.6%
70.8%
53.3%
51.9%
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6. The Business Case
Effectively servicing culturally diverse communities isn’t only the ethical and responsible thing to do, it makes business sense:
“More diverse companies are better able to attract top talent; to improve their customer orientation, employee satisfaction and decision making; and secure their license to operate” McKinsey 2018
Organisations should better value global experience and multiple cultural identities, and the benefits these cultural assets can bring, when making recruitment, promotion and appointment decisions. Diversity Council of Australia, 2015
MkCkinsey ‘Delivering through Diversity, 2018

7. The Business Case
By leveraging the diversity and cultural capability of your organisation, leaders can also achieve:
Improved organisational performance
Cost savings
Better staff retention
Lower absenteeism
Increased creativity and innovation
Higher quality problem-solving in teams
Increased understanding of client groups
Enhanced organisational flexibility.
MkCkinsey ‘Delivering through Diversity, 2018

8. Why diversity matters
Cindy Hook, CEO, Deloittes Australia: “Cultural diversity is about the hard facts. Deloittes is changing. The market is changing. And all of Australia is changing.”
We have to understand these changes and where necessary, alter perceptions within the firm in order to have a strong organisation that understands and nurtures all of its talented people.
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9. Cultural diversity in the public sector
In the public sector there is a moral case for diversity and inclusion – it is the ‘right thing to do’
Senior leaders must be engaged to build support and commitment
A diverse and inclusive public sector contributes to improved public engagement with government services
Source: NSW Public Sector Commission (2018) Diversity and Inclusion in the NSW Public Sector: A conversation
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10. Leaders drive organisational culture
Diversity and inclusion result in high performance
Leaders need to create a culture of inclusion where all employees can leverage their capabilities for the benefit of the organisation
Effective leaders understand how to talk about culture and to engage with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and respond to the needs of a diverse client base.