MEDIA RELEASE
Australia India Leadership Dialogue Luncheon Event to Shed Light on Inclusive Workforces in the Digital Era
As the buzz around ‘inclusivity’ dominates workplace policy discussions in 2023, the Australia India Leadership Dialogue (AILD) emerges as a pivotal platform for shaping conversations on fostering an inclusive digital workforce.
The Australia India Institute’s ‘Working from Anywhere: Accessing Indian Tech Talent’ report investigates the use of technology in remote work, emphasising the delicate balance between traditional workplace structures and the digital flexibility afforded by emerging technologies.
In the workplace, nurturing inclusion means driving a collaborative environment that thrives on diversity, perspective and versatility. The tech revolution has ushered in new ways of working across Australia and India, particularly for our knowledge workers.
“As both countries continue to drive investment into technological development, digital skill development and supporting growing tech forces, awareness of perceived barriers of geography and gender remain at the forefront of progressive discussions,” CEO Lisa Singh said.
The recent disruptive force of Covid combined with these tech trends challenge many of our traditional notions of how and where work gets done, opening new opportunities for economic prospects to be more distributed.
The report highlights the experiences and perspectives of stakeholders in Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana in India’s Information Technology Services.
It found women with Work from Anywhere opportunities, were able to avoid societal judgements about putting their own careers ahead of the needs of their spouse and children.
It also found, Work From Anywhere helped give opportunities to women with caring responsibilities, female workers with health issues and women from smaller cities to join the IT workforce.
Employees that had care responsibilities for elderly parents at home were also able to accommodate visits to doctors and perform other caregiving duties during the day.
“Inclusivity is about breaking down barriers, championing equality and ensuring that every voice has a meaningful place at the table. This event has the honour of tapping into a diverse range of expert perspectives in the addressment of key concerns of inclusivity, flexibility and diversity, as the world becomes more entrenched into digital landscapes,” Singh said.
“These findings undoubtably show us that the Work from Anywhere model has been proven to be an inclusive model allowing people to join the workforce, who otherwise would not have been able to work given their constraints.”
The AILD Lunch event, ‘The Inclusive Workforce in The Digital Age’ will also feature a panel discussion into workforce inclusivity and the use of digital technology as tools of growth and development.
With discussions on remote work, investment, skills, women in STEM and digital inclusion, the event will address shared challenges and explores areas of cooperation and growth to further advance the Australia-India bilateral relationship. Our panel of experts includes:
- Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Honourable Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services, Government of Tamil Nadu India,
- Mrs Avani Prabhakar, Global Head of Talent and HR Business Partners, Atlassian
- The Hon. Natalie Hutchins MP, Minister for Jobs and Industry, Treaty and First Peoples and Women, Victorian Government
- Mr Stephen Dziedzic, ABC Foreign Affairs (Asia Pacific) reporter