{"id":35287,"date":"2023-10-20T14:37:39","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/two-things-any-startup-can-do-to-improve-diversity-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:37:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:37:39","slug":"two-things-any-startup-can-do-to-improve-diversity-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/two-things-any-startup-can-do-to-improve-diversity-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Two things any startup can do to improve diversity – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fiona<\/div>\n

Startups need to not just be talking about gender diversity but also making active steps to achieve it, diversity expert Fiona Hitchiner says.<\/p>\n

Hitchiner is the director of innovation-driven Seventeen Hundred <\/a>and has worked with major brands including Virgin Australia and Pfizer.<\/p>\n

She says there are many simple things that startups can do to improve internal diversity figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrassroots work needs to be done in the diversity and inclusion space,\u201d Hitchiner tells\u00a0StartupSmart.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no one gold bullet to this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diversity is the best way for startups to maximise innovation and achieve greater returns, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to make sure you\u2019re getting the best talent and you\u2019re getting the most out of that talent,\u201d Hitchiner says.<\/p>\n

She believes the earlier startups can implement processes and checks to promote diversity, the better they\u2019ll perform be in the long-term.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a startup you can set the culture you want from an early stage,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

When attracting and retaining talents, startups generally can\u2019t offer the big salary packages of established larger businesses but what they can do is provide flexible work solutions and a culture that caters to individuality, she says.<\/p>\n

1. Stay in touch with those on leave<\/h3>\n

When employees take parental leave, an active effort should be made to ensure they remain connected with the business during their time off.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave clear conversations upfront before they go on parental leave,\u201d Hitchiner says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not always you\u2019ve made it through your parental leave and you\u2019re back and you\u2019re started.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u00a0says it’s important to offer to keep employees updated on business growth and changes while providing training either during or on return to facilitate a positive transition back to work.<\/p>\n

Planning ahead with supportive\u00a0policies like flexible work hours and assistance with childcare will make you better placed as a founder to retain talent for the long run, she says.<\/p>\n

2. Protect the company from unconscious bias<\/h3>\n

Hitchiner trains business leaders in unconscious bias because it can influence decisions in recruitment, promotions and project allocation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have bias but it\u2019s making sure you\u2019re aware of it to bring yourself into line and give yourself a little check,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Based on experience, she says gaining an understanding of these barriers and actively responding to and implementing measures to boost diversity makes real business sense.<\/p>\n

Research indicates that increasing female workforce participation by just 6% would boost Australia\u2019s economy by about $25 billion per year<\/a> and equalising the ratio of men to women in the workplace would drive up Australia\u2019s GDP by 11%.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the right thing to do but it\u2019s absolutely the right business thing to do if you want to be profitable,” Hitchiner says.<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Facebook<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Twitter<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>LinkedIn<\/a><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>and<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Soundcloud<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Startups need to not just be talking about gender diversity but also making active steps to achieve it, diversity expert<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35287"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}