Valuing Diversity (Equal Employment Opportunities)
We want the Treasury to be respected for the relevance of our advice. To achieve this, our thinking and actions need to be informed by a diverse range of views. We need to understand different perspectives, constantly look for new insights and recalibrate our views in light of new evidence. Fostering “diversity of thinking” is fundamental to our success. It enhances the credibility, value and relevance of our work and advice.
In addition to focusing on diversity of thinking more broadly, we are focusing on two important areas where we believe improvements are necessary:
- Ethnic diversity: The significant majority culture is currently Pākehā and does not reflect the broader society that we serve. In particular, we want to bring a greater Māori perspective to our advice.
- The proportion of women in senior leadership roles: This is currently low. Progress has been made in recent years through a deliberate approach to creating pathways and flexibility (eg, team leader roles, part-time managers), but barriers to diversity still exist in recruitment practices that can unintentionally bias against women.
Over the coming year, we are focusing in particular on the development of tools for managers to use in recruitment processes, building a target group database and identifying opportunities for our senior leaders to participate more fully in our diversity programme.
