Diversity and inclusion
Calvary has almost 18,000 compassionate and dedicated staff and volunteers who aim to make a difference in the communities we serve, underpinned by our strategy of Sharing the Spirit of Calvary through Great Connected Care. However, to ensure we adopt socially sustainable practices, we must continually consider and review how our operations as a healthcare provider can influence people directly and indirectly.
Calvary actively supports Diversity, Equity & Inclusion as part of our broader commitment to ESG. Our DE&I objectives are:
- To create a welcoming inclusive organisation that embraces diversity & reflects the values & Spirit of Calvary;
- To promote an inclusive, respectful, culturally competent workforce, addressing any barriers to access & equity;
- To attract, recruit & retain a diverse workforce with equity, respect & equitable access to fair opportunities;
- To welcome & value people from diverse backgrounds and,
- To establish governance to review practice, benchmark progress, and ensure service delivery & environments meet the diverse needs of all who work or are cared for by Calvary.
Calvary’s Diversity Equity & Inclusion Plan 2024 distils these into one single objective: That everyone feels welcome at Calvary, regardless of their background, belief or identity.
Calvary is committed to providing respectful, culturally safe services to the people we serve, welcoming environments and a genuinely inclusive workforce where people are supported to draw strengths from their identity, culture and community.
Our commitment in action
Calvary commits to provide respectful, culturally safe services to the people we serve, welcoming environments and a genuinely inclusive workforce where people are supported to draw strengths from their identity, culture and community.
Accordingly, Calvary:
- Supports access to healthcare as a basic human right.
- Affirms
- that health is a state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or disability; and
- that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction.
- Recognises the impact of social determinants on health outcomes, noting that up to 50% of people’s health can be attributed to their social, economic, and physical environment.
- Will consult and include First Peoples of Australia and peoples of culturally diverse and linguistic backgrounds in creating culturally safe workplace settings and environments reflective of the inherent dignity and value of each and every human being.
- Commits to implementing measures to promote cultural safety and create a genuinely inclusive workforce; investing in our First Peoples and peoples of culturally diverse and linguistic backgrounds; and developing specific measures of accountability.
- Acknowledges the effects of structural racism and intergenerational trauma, in particular on our First Peoples, which manifests in demonstratively negative health outcomes and disproportionate incarceration rates.
- Opposes all forms of discrimination and will not tolerate any policy or behaviour that excludes and marginalises people, especially for disability, race ethnicity, identity or experience (LGBTIQA+).
- Values collecting better data to understand disparities and provide the evidence to address implicit and explicit biases of health care workers and in the health system.
- Advocates for the long-term health and well-being of all members of the communities in which Calvary serves, ensuring this is done in an inclusive and sustainable manner.
- Accompanies and stands with the vulnerable, in fidelity to our heritage and charism (founding spirit).