Diversity & Inclusion Technology Program
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
IWN adopted our first Diversity & Inclusion Plan in April 2021. This led to our Diversity & Inclusion Technology Program, established in 2022 to test and trial assistive technologies on behalf of the water industry and share learnings in a more inclusive environment. Learn more below about what we’re working on.
The plan has also driven positive change in our organisation. By moving to skills-based appointments, we have seen a shift in female participation in our voluntary roles. Within the first 12 months of our plan, our Executive Group moved from 10% to 40% female participation, Program Managers from 0% to 40% and Champions are now at 44%. While diversity and inclusion is about more than gender, we are proud of this shift to better reflect our industry.
We are working in alignment with other industry inclusion programs, such as WaterAble and Pride in Water, and we participate and promote activities, events and significant cultural dates.
Program Manager: Anita McKenzie from South East Water.
Deputy Program Manager: Pete Houston South Gippsland Water.
Watch our program update at our recent members conference.
Current projects
Knowledge Sharing Library
We are working on developing a Knowledge Sharing Library for our members. It will focus on accessibility technology and provide a catalogue of items, along with information about what they do and where to find them.
Our aim is to make it easy for our members to find out what accessibility technology is available so they can incorporate more of it in their organisations.
Accessibility Toolkits
We are creating these toolkits of about 5-10 items of accessibility technology for our members.
Items could include dictation devices and accessible keyboards, for example.
This concept is based on the idea that members can keep the toolkit in their central office so staff can borrow accessible devices to try them out and see if they assist them in their work.
Proximity Sensor
This sensor was designed by one of our IWN team members.
It is a wearable sensor that alerts a visually impaired person if they are close to a physical object, such as a wall, by making a beeping sound.
We are making the sensor available to our member organisations for staff to try out.