The Social Services minister told The Australian that “anyone who has actually visited Australian business and professional organisations can see that the embrace of diversity is on plain display.”
The Liberal MP made the comments while rejecting recommendations by the Australian Human Rights Commission that organisations explore aspirational targets and the possibility of further data collection on the diversity of employees.
If the embrace of diversity was truly everywhere, we’d see it in the leadership teams across large employers. We’d see it on the boards of listed entities, in the names and pictures of those senior leaders and decision-makers featured in the business press and across executive positions in organisations.
While diversity is starting to be recognised as beneficial by smart business leaders, Porter’s assessment of it being “embraced” across the board, is nothing but a vast and potentially damaging overstatement.