Te kokenga ā-punaha i ngā titikaha mō te Papa Pounamu System progress against Papa Pounamu commitments 2022

Public Service agencies deliver bias learning to all their people and change their workplace structures and systems to reduce bias from occurring. This should be part of a wider plan to address bias over time.

Agencies must address bias and discrimination in all its forms. Many agencies have focused on providing training, development opportunities and resources for staff to help them begin to address bias in their workplaces.

By developing knowledge of our individual biases, public servants are better placed to recognise and mitigate it at both an individual and systemic level. Over 2022 we also saw agencies using more targeted measures to improve representation in their workplace, ranging from coaching to targeted leadership development programmes.

All agencies are committed to reviewing their HR and remuneration policies to remove bias through Kia Toipoto – the Public Service Pay Gaps Action Plan. We need to do more and these changes to organisational structures, systems and policies are an essential next step to reducing the impact of bias in the workplace. 

Inland Revenue: Addressing Bias 

Inland Revenue recognises that unconscious bias impacts us all and acknowledges the importance of their people understanding, recognising and knowing how to address bias. Inland Revenue have been working with their employee-led networks to understand opportunities to strengthen their approach to mitigate bias as recognising and mitigating bias is key to achieving Inland Revenue’s D&I goals.

Inland Revenue seeks to create a strong awareness of their diverse workforce, as this will strengthen their frontline services. For Inland Revenue, prioritising learning is an important way to do this. Inland Revenue offers staff opportunities to complete online learning to understand and mitigate bias. They reported the following learning completion rates: 93% of their people and 94% of leaders. 

To encourage completion, Inland Revenue ensured that the learning modules are easy to understand and made accessible for all learners. Inland Revenue monitored completion rates offered additional support when it was low. For example, dedicated time to complete the learning modules was provided for staff in customer-facing roles. To reinforce the importance of mitigating unconscious bias, the learning is now a mandatory part of induction for new starters. Additional ‘just in time’ refresher learning is now being rolled out for leaders, with a particular focus on recruitment and selection processes. 

The success of this has been reflected in Inland Revenue’s People Experience results where it was reported that there was an increase in people feeling included. Having a greater understanding of bias has also been a factor in selection decisions, with a positive impact on the representation of woman in more senior and higher paid roles, and a reduction in the pay gaps for Māori and Pacific people over the last 12 months. 

Focusing on leaders, and the decisions they make, Inland Revenue has developed a range of guidance to embed unconscious bias learning. The development of resources will support decisionmakers to navigate a variety of everyday decisions, for example within recruitment, flexible working requests, as well as having effective Whanake (Inland Revenue’s performance approach) kōrero. Inland Revenue has taken an active approach to encourage staff participation by working on the barriers and supporting their people to participate. 

Agencies establish, support, resource and engage with employee-led networks. This should be an ongoing commitment. 

Public Service employee-led networks (ELNs) are groups of employees who connect with others with shared lived experiences. They work together, and with their agency, to highlight diverse perspectives, contribute to a culture of inclusion and create a sense of belonging in the workplace. This priority area requires us to establish, support, resource and engage with ELNs, as an ongoing commitment.

Currently 72 percent of staff say they have access to relevant employee-led networks in their agencies. In 2022, only three agencies did not have a single ELN. Those three agencies were small and supportive of their employees joining any of the seven cross-agency networks. Some examples of agency networks are those for women, Rainbow, Māori, disabled, Pan-Asian and Pacific peoples.

We have seen emerging neurodiversity, mental health, age and life-stage, faith based and ethnic staff networks. The growth in the number of networks is a sign of their impact and value to their members, their agencies and across the Public Service.

During 2023, ELNs will be involved in important system wide work such as supporting the National Action Plan Against Racism and the refresh of the Code of Conduct. They are also working closely with Te Kawa Mataaho to draw on its Te Taunaki data to understand more about our disabled and Rainbow communities, to inform future work and priorities. 

Supporting Employee-Led Networks: Kāinga Ora 

With a workforce of over 3,000 people, Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities supports housing and urban development across Aotearoa New Zealand. To achieve its vision of building better, brighter homes, communities and lives, Kāinga Ora recognises it needs to be a place where everyone feels they belong. 

Kāinga Ora demonstrates its commitment to fostering a culture of belonging through Whakaurungia Te Whare Kanorau, their Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Framework. One of the D&I impact areas for Whakaurungia Te Whare Kanorau, Metrics and Measurement, has resulted in improved workforce data collection that will provide valuable insights to inform future D&I priorities and outcomes. 

Another D&I impact area for Whakaurungia Te Whare Kanorau, in line with the Papa Pounamu priority areas, sets out how to support, resource and empower strong, thriving employee-led networks. Taking a planned approach to D&I work means that Kāinga Ora can manage the workload whilst still being effective in providing a supportive environment for networks. 

Kāinga Ora has 11 employee-led networks; all 11 have senior leaders as network champions. Over the past year, Kāinga Ora has seen membership increases across every network. The Women’s Network, the largest network at Kāinga Ora, grew by 673%. New networks this year include the Neurodiversity and Pan-Asian networks. 

In late-2021, Ngā Māngai (Many Voices/Representatives), the Network Chairs’ rōpū, was established to strengthen the voice and elevate the visibility of networks at Kāinga Ora. Ngā Māngai meets monthly to provide wrap-around support to networks, foster collaboration, and encourage an intersectional approach to activities between and across networks. 

At Kāinga Ora, networks are key partners for organisational policy, practice and change initiatives. As an example, networks provided valuable insight and guidance as Kāinga Ora developed its Covid-19 response plan. Pasifika and Māori Network members are also part of Ngā Pae Tātaki – the governance groups at Kāinga Ora. 

Networks have also strengthened and furthered D&I conversations across the wider organisation. For example, the Rainbow Network has led the implementation of Rainbow Awareness training across the country. The Women’s Network has been instrumental in getting menopause onto the agenda for the Wellbeing team in 2023. NARI, one of the Pasifika Network at Kāinga Ora, has generously contributed to the co-development of an upcoming Pasifika Mentoring Programme at Kāinga Ora. 

Public Service agencies deliver cultural competence learning to all their people. This should be one part of a wider plan to enhance cultural competence, for the broadest range of cultures, over time. 

Papa Pounamu requires all Public Service agencies to develop cultural competence across their workforce. In this context, cultural competence means recognising our own worldview and understanding and valuing the variety of cultural and social norms reflected in the Public Service.

It is important to note that we have additional responsibilities for building our Māori-Crown relations capability. Reflecting this, Te Arawhiti has produced a Māori-Crown relations Capability Framework, Whāinga Amorangi, which is discussed in the Māori-Crown Relationship section of this briefing.

In 2022, all agencies continued action to enhance cultural competence in their workforce. While in 2021 most had focused on developing and lifting Māori-Crown relations capability, in line with Whāinga Amorangi, in 2022 agencies increasingly focused on building Pacific, ethnic and Rainbow knowledge and competence as well.

As agencies mature their understanding of this priority, we expect to see them explore ways staff can build broader skills in cultural competency, in addition to learning knowledge or skills that may apply to any cultural group. 

Building Cultural Competence: Department of Corrections 

Ara Poutama Aotearoa is one of the largest government departments. It employs around 9,000 staff with the majority working with offenders in one of 18 prisons or 151 Community Corrections sites across New Zealand. 

Ara Poutama Aotearoa is building cultural capability through an online learning programme called Mairangatia, which means: to raise, elevate, or uplift. The programme is specific to the organisation and is aligned to organisational values. Mairangatia includes self-directed learning modules and this is followed by facilitated group discussions and personal reflection exercises.

The facilitated sessions promote discussion but are developed to ensure cultural and psychological safety. The reflection component is designed to build greater understanding of unconscious bias and intercultural awareness. The programme provides a model for conversations about wellbeing and putting organisational values into action. 

Ara Poutama Aotearoa’s approach focuses on developing skills and knowledge of Te Reo Maori and Te Ao Māori but encourages a broader approach to building cultural competency. This means giving recognition to the diversity in Ara Poutama’s workforce. 

In 2021, Ara Poutama Aotearoa piloted the Mairangatia programme with a cohort of 75 kaimahi from the Central Region and selected teams. Participants liked that it was an introductory programme that incorporated a team building dimension.

The organisation is currently incorporating changes to help make the material more relevant to the different roles, with particular focus on frontline services. It is expected the programme will be launched across the organisation in early 2023. 

Agencies will enhance inclusive leadership practice by ensuring all senior leaders (tiers 1–3) undertake learning on inclusive leadership. This will be an ongoing journey for leaders. 

Inclusive leadership means leadership that values diversity and fosters inclusivity in the workplace.  

In the Papa Pounamu work programme, inclusive leaders demonstrate: 

• cognisance
• curiosity
• cultural intelligence
• collaboration
• commitment
• courage.

We expect all our senior leaders to undertake inclusive leadership training. This helps our leaders to: 

• recognise and mitigate against bias in their dayto-day practices
• recognise, respect and value cultural differences and worldviews of others
• build positive working relationships with the people they work alongside and the people they engage with 

• support and value the voices of all employees
• consistently apply an inclusive leadership lens to their actions.

Public Service agencies also have access to Inclusive Leadership resources through the LDC.  

As of 2021, over three quarters of agencies had delivered inclusive leadership training, and over half had described a focus on inclusive leadership through their diversity and inclusion plans, strategies or policies. In 2022, almost all agencies have offered either internally or externally delivered leadership development opportunities. Several agencies are now considering ways of measuring impact such as creating more regular leadership feedback opportunities.  

We will continue to assess our progress against the Papa Pounamu priorities and use this information to help us understand where we need to do more.

Inclusive Leadership: New Zealand Defence Force 

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is made up of three services - the Royal New Zealand Air Force, New Zealand Army and Royal New Zealand Navy, and a civilian workforce. NZDF has a Directorate of Diversity and Inclusion that designs and oversees work programmes relating to progressing an inclusive culture for the NZDF. Alongside this work, the NZDF is committed to increasing the participation of women in our workforce (both in uniform and in leadership roles), being an LGBTTIQA+ inclusive workplace, as well as also increasing its cultural diversity by growing and supporting Māori and Pacific leaders. 

The Institute for Leader Development (ILD) oversees leader development across the NZDF and maintains the leadership framework which recognises seven levels of leadership. Each level has an associated leadership programme with the aim of growing effective and inclusive leaders within the NZDF.

Over the past year the ILD has updated its leadership framework to include a bicultural focus and strengthened diversity and inclusion learning outcomes. The NZDF bicultural leadership framework is based on six elements related to strengthening how leaders and teams’ function and create positive work environments. The updated framework has recently been endorsed by senior leaders and will be launched in 2023. 

To support on-going learning, NZDF curates a virtual library of D&I resources that will support the discussion on inclusive leadership and its implications for diversity and inclusion; the Directorate of Diversity and Inclusion also has a virtual library of diversity and inclusion resources. 

Agencies encourage and support all people to build positive and inclusive relationships within their workplaces. This should be an ongoing commitment. 

Positive and inclusive relationships matter for people everywhere, both inside organisations and out in the community. Inclusive relationships acknowledge and value diverse perspectives and worldviews. Most agencies have policies, processes and practices that support relationship development with stakeholders and for people leaders with their teams, acknowledging power dynamics and how they impact the quality of relationships.

In 2022, leaders in agencies are increasingly developing the skills and capability needed to have quality conversations and build meaningful relationships with individuals and their teams. Agencies are also interpreting this priority more broadly, from running agency-wide surveys for staff feedback to providing more opportunities for staff to have meaningful conversations about diversity and inclusion.

This work is supported by the Positive Workplace Cultures (PWC) Programme which provides guidance for agencies to achieve positive working relationships. Over the past year there has been a notable increase in agency efforts to create workplaces that are inclusive, diverse, accessible and safe for all staff. These efforts were particularly demonstrated by agencies evaluating their workplaces to assess effectiveness of work programmes and to better understand staff engagement and experiences.

Building Relationships: Department of Internal Affairs 

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs aims to provide an environment where people can be their unique selves, where they value, respect and celebrate differences and everyone can be the best they can be. 

In 2019, a fono held for Pacific staff identified there could be better, more targeted support for career development and progression. To address this, the role of Pacific Career Broker was created. The Pacific Career Broker does the following: 

• Helps to encourage career development and progression to more senior positions, and to build and develop the skills and confidence of Pacific people 

• Provides support and guidance on exploring career and development opportunities, talent management and placement, alongside advice on effective CV writing and interview preparation, and 

• Provides advice to managers on improving and adapting their recruitment and interview practices to mitigate unconscious bias to ensure people, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age and disability, experience a fair and positive recruitment process. 

The Pacific Career Broker works with colleagues on career aspirations, identifies gaps and the “stretch” opportunities they are seeking. The Pacific Career Broker connects the person with relevant opportunities across the organisation. This allows staff to develop their skills, progress to more senior roles and feel confident in their career journey.

As an example, through this programme in 2021/22, Te Tari Taiwhenua has been successful in recruiting nine Pacific people into the technology group. By taking an active role through the Pacific Career Broker, Te Tari Taiwhenua connects Pacific staff with the potential work opportunities at that they might not usually apply for and by providing support through the application process, Te Tari Taiwhenua is able to retain their talent and ensure that the ministry reflects the communities it serves. 

In the complex area of national security, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) require a diverse workforce. They need people from different backgrounds, with different skills, life experiences and ways of thinking. 

Growing a diverse and inclusive workforce is critical to the success of the GCSB and NZSIS. However, there are some challenges they face. To work there you need a Top Secret Special (TSS) clearance, and the requirements underpinning a TSS means they are unlikely to ever fully reflect Aotearoa New Zealand. In addition, they can’t openly talk about what they do, and they need to protect staff identities. This brings forth challenges when they are wanting to engage externally to attract diverse talent pools. 

To address these challenges, the agencies launched their first joint Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Strategy 2017-2020 in March 2018. Workforce data showed there was limited ethnic diversity and low representation of women in technical/operational, and middle management roles. 

Since 2017 the GCSB and NZSIS have delivered a ranged of initiatives to attract, retain and develop diversity in areas of low representation. One of the initiatives in their refreshed D&I Strategy 2021-2025 was a targeted D&I learning programme - aimed at building capability for everyone. The programme has essential and recommended learning for all staff and leaders because everyone is a leader when it is comes to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. 

Their work is definitely paying off. As of 30 June 2022: 

• GCSB’s ethnic diversity had increased by 6.7 percentage points since June 2017 (from 14.7% to 21.4%). For NZSIS ethnic diversity was 18.9%, an increase of 3.7 percentage points in the same period. 

• The NZSIS’s representation of women was 44.5%, with 52.4% represented at senior management. 

• For GCSB women made up 37.9% of the workforce, with 63.2% represented in senior management. 

• GCSB’s gender pay gap (GPG) was 4.8%, a decrease of 3.9 percentage points since June 2017.  And NZSIS’s GPG was 7.8%, a decrease of 1.7 percentage points in the same period.

The GCSB and NZSIS have shared a range of D&I resources with Te Kawa Mataaho. Some of this includes e-learning modules, which have been utilised by other agencies in the public sector.