Representative:
Any person acting on behalf or under the name of Mary MacKillop Today including Board Members, volunteers, contractors, consultants and staff
In order to fulfil our mission and vision, Mary MacKillop Today is committed to advancing gender equity and diversity throughout our organisation and in our programs.
The CEO shall appoint a staff person to be the gender equity focal point for the organisation who promotes this important aspect of our work through activities such as staff training, policy revision, tool development.
Mary MacKillop Today believes that all people, by virtue of their shared humanity, carry inherently equal dignity and rights regardless of their gender identity.
Therefore, Mary MacKillop Today seeks to affirm and promote the equal rights, opportunities and status of all people.
Mary MacKillop Today will improve the ability of people to work effectively in the organisation and in communities which we serve by increasing awareness of gender inequities and, by working with all people to change the conditions that create and maintain such inequities.
Mary MacKillop Today fosters an environment where inclusive working relationships and respect for diversity in work, opinions, and management styles is encouraged and where all employees have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Mary MacKillop Today operates in countries overseas each with its unique culture, norms and values, perspectives and socioeconomic environment. This diversity should be reflected within the organisation in order to enact our core values and promote a robust organisational culture and quality operations.
Mary MacKillop Today will promote diversity within the organisation in order to benefit from a variety of perspectives to inform organisational strategy, communications, decision-making, and how programs are designed and implemented.
Mary MacKillop Today will advance gender equity within the communities we serve through our programming, our fundraising, advocacy and our influence on policy.
Strategies to implement the gender equity and diversity policy include addressing gender equity and diversity in:
• Recruitment and selection of staff and directors
• Induction
• Mary MacKillop Today values and code of conduct
• Staff held accountable for their behaviour through their work plans and performance planning, implementation and appraisal
• Learning and development
• Employment conditions, e.g. flexible work hours, parental leave
• Strategic planning and workforce planning
• Communications, e.g. online, verbal, written, meetings
Mary MacKillop Today demonstrates its commitment to gender equity and diversity in business practices by:
• Promoting gender balance and cultural diversity at all levels of the organisation, including senior management and governing body.
• Ensuring all employees have the opportunity to input into decision-making processes that may affect them
• Integrating gender and diversity considerations in all planning exercises including strategic and operational planning, program and work plans, and will allocate adequate resources to support relevant initiatives
• Considering gender equity and diversity in all relevant Mary MacKillop Today policy frameworks and fundraising and marketing communications. This includes monitoring the language used in all publications and materials, and those of partners.
• Conducting periodic gender equity and diversity checklist within Mary MacKillop Today
Providing new mothers with a room to pump/express milk or breastfeed their babies in the workplace, sufficient break time to do so, and a refrigerator to store their breastmilk.
• Ensuring organisational development and human resources processes support staff to reach their full potential in the workplace and are equally rewarded without gender-based discrimination
• Ensuring working conditions reflect the diversity of the workforce and support staff in meeting their personal responsibilities.
• Creating an environment where staff feel physically and emotionally safe at work.
• Actively supporting staff to improve their gender equity competency and sensitivity.
• Celebrating and actively accepting diverse cultural backgrounds and different gender identities
Mary MacKillop Today’s employment policies are based on the principle of merit, whilst recognising that a variety of strategic approaches and actions are required to promote gender equity and diversity within the organisation.
To enhance program quality and to affirm our commitment to our vision, mission, and values, Mary MacKillop Today will promote gender equity and diversity through programming systems and approaches including in program planning, workforce planning for implementation of programs and in each stage of the project cycle.
Mary MacKillop Today respects the diverse beliefs and cultures of the contexts in which we work, but the pursuit and implementation of gender equity underpins our programming approach for effective development outcomes.
Mary MacKillop Today undertakes programs that identify and address unequal power relations, and marginalisation. Wherever possible programs will not only address the basic needs and well-being of marginalised groups regardless of their gender identity but will increase access to resources, participation in decision-making in the home and communities, protect or promote legal status, and increase control over resources and benefits.
Mary MacKillop Today systematically analyses gender relations during assessments, including opportunities and constraints to equal opportunities for people of all genders within the relevant cultural context, and uses this gender analysis to design and implement programs/projects that maximise positive impacts on gender equity and minimise potential negative consequences.
Mary MacKillop Today systematically analyses issues related to diversity that are relevant to the particular socio-economic context as an explicit part of holistic analysis during assessment and program/project design stage and uses the diversity analysis in ongoing program/project monitoring and evaluation.
Mary MacKillop Today monitors and evaluates all projects/programs in order to measure their relative impact on people of all genders, as well as marginalised and/or vulnerable groups, and uses lessons in ongoing design and management.
Mary MacKillop Today promotes gender equity and diversity during all stages of the project cycle through staffing arrangements, training and capacity building of employees and counterparts, ensuring that all people regardless of their gender identity have input into decision-making, and innovative strategies for promoting inclusion of diverse opinions.
Mary MacKillop Today has a gender-sensitive checklist for use in the project cycle.
Any complaints related to harassment or discrimination on the basis of gender should follow the reporting procedure outlined in the Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Policy (1.1).
