Inclusion and diversity at the Bionics Institute
At the Bionics Institute, our people make us who we are
We believe that by fostering an inclusive and diverse environment that sparks bright ideas, we can build the foundations of innovation and create medical devices that make a positive impact on the lives of people living with challenging medical conditions.
We want all of our employees to feel included and valued; and to harness the differences in their age, gender, gender identity, race, accessibility requirements, sexual orientation, or cultural background.
Our research transforms the lives of people from all walks of life. We recognise the need to draw on the perspectives and experience of a diverse, engaged, and united team to ensure our technology is optimised for everyone.
To maintain our position as a world leading medical device research institute, we hire qualified people from different backgrounds and experience levels; finding the right people for the right roles and making sure our people have access to the resources and opportunities they need to reach their full potential.
We believe in addressing the barriers to equality and creating a level playing field for all people.
To do this, we are focusing on three key focus areas in our Inclusion and Diversity Framework:
Creating an inclusive culture
We value the uniqueness of our people and use this value to drive our innovative research.
Attracting, growing, and retaining unique talent
We attract, develop, and retain diverse and talented individuals to maximise the development of innovative medical device solutions. We value our role of providing practical experience to undergraduate and postgraduate students from a diverse range of backgrounds.
Encouraging an innovative approach to research that draws on different perspectives.
We strive towards a diverse and inclusive culture and governance structure that supports consumer involvement and diverse participation in all our research services.
Our Commitment
We aim to embed diverse and inclusive practices, systems and approaches into all aspects of our work.
See below for just some of the ways we are creating and sustaining an environment that is respectful, fosters inclusiveness, promotes diversity and embraces individual differences and perspectives of our employees and those we work with.
We are committed to ensuring everyone enjoys the same opportunities and rewards at the Bionics Institute. Regardless of gender identity, every voice counts.
With gender-balanced leadership throughout our organisation, we are serious about addressing gender bias, pay equity, women in leadership, sharing of parental responsibilities, and domestic and family violence.
We’re proud to be a leader in gender equality within STEM. Women make up more than half of our Senior Leadership Team, over half of our research team is female, we have a strong pipeline of female talent, and we support gender pay equity.
We are improving gender equality at the Bionics Institute by:
We recognise that different generations of people bring different skills and knowledge, and that expertise is earned over time.
At the Bionics Institute, we are committed to supporting our employees regardless of their age or whether they are at the start of their career, in the middle, or transitioning to retirement.
We offer flexible working arrangements to provide flexibility for people to work, no matter their age or stage of life.
With nearly 20% of the population living with a disability, we are committed to removing the barriers that exist for people with disabilities so that everyone has equal access to better health and employment outcomes.
We strive to do this by encouraging current employees and prospective employees to speak with their manager or a member of our HR team about their needs and the reasonable adjustments that would help them to thrive in their role.
We are committed to building an inclusive culture where our people can bring their whole selves to work by removing barriers so our people with disability, mental illness or a medical condition can thrive at the Bionics Institute.
We are working to improve inclusivity at the Bionics Institute by:
Flexible working has always been supported and encouraged at the Bionics Institute. We believe that flexibility should be possible for everyone.
We know that our people are juggling responsibilities and priorities outside work that are important to them, such as family, study, learning a new hobby or caring for dependents. And we want to make it easier for them.
We aim to provide a wide range of flexible working and leave options to help our people better balance their work and life goals. We encourage regular team-based discussions between team members and their leaders to design flexible working solutions that work for the individual, their team, and their work.
We offer a range of flexible working options:
We encourage staff to look after their wellbeing and utilise the leave options offered by the Bionics Institute.
This includes:
