ATS DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PROTOCOL
The Australian Tunnelling Society is committed to a tunnelling profession that is as diverse as the community it works in. This commitment involves working across cultural, institutional, societal, and organisational factors with our members, industry partners, academia and the broader community.
What is Diversity?
A diverse workplace understands that each individual is unique, recognising individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio‐economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, or other ideologies. They are the same attributes that represent our diverse community.
What is Inclusion?
Inclusion, while closely related, is a separate concept from diversity. An inclusive workplace can be defined as “the achievement of a work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organisation’s success”. An inclusive culture is about creating a deep sense of belonging, where every employee is valued and their ideas heard.
The purpose of this Diversity and Inclusion Protocol is to support the ATS objectives of attracting, engaging and retaining passionate and committed members and sponsors who will contribute to the ATS’s long term success as a Technical Society, and its values and objectives through a broader and diverse range of perspectives, experience and ideas.
This Protocol is designed to complement and support the existing ATS objectives and values to:
- Advance the knowledge of the Australian tunnelling industry through areas of design, construction and utilisation of underground space, including technical aspects, health and safety, and ecologically sustainable development
- Stimulate a better understanding of the underground domain by governments, planners and the community
- Promote and review research and development of subsurface projects
- Maintain an affiliation with the International Tunnelling Association (ITA) through active membership, including participation on ITA Working Groups
- Communicate and link with other local and international associations concerned with the application, planning and practice of subsurface development and utilisation
- Review the adequacy of education and training of technologists associated with the science, engineering, and practice of subsurface development
Our Commitment
The Australian Tunnelling Society is committed to supporting our industry towards achieving a more diverse and inclusive workforce and will demonstrate this through:
- Fostering and promoting an awareness and commitment to diversity and inclusion
- Increasing female participation in society through the Women in Tunnelling events
- A minimum 25% female representation in speakers/panellists at all ATS events
- Integrating diversity and inclusion principles into ATS technical sessions, workshops, conferences and events
- Identifying and removing activities that hinder the diversity and inclusion principles of the ATS
- Establishing and assessing measurable objectives for achieving improved diversity, including our commitment to have female representation on the National Executive of a minimum 25% by 2024
- Reporting on various diversity statistics across the Australian tunnelling industry
- Provide features in the ATS journal and website of events that showcase diversity and inclusion
Practical Implementation
The Australian Tunnelling Society’s Leadership will put measurable objectives in place at all levels of the Technical Society so that our members feel included, valued and respected and have access to equal opportunity.