Equity diversity & inclusion

Our UNSW Business School EDI Committee is responsible for facilitating, supporting, and creating initiatives, programs, guidelines and activities to empower all to feel safe, included and respected. We collaborate with other UNSW EDI groups to ensure that everyone has equitable opportunities to succeed, regardless of background, show leadership and benefit from others' initiatives and best practices. The Faculty representatives are the key point of contact for all EDI-related matters across each School and Unit.

Committee members

The EDI Committee currently consists of members who are each passionate about developing an even more diverse and inclusive Business School.

The EDI Committee Members are as follows:

As highlighted through our Business School 2021+ strategy, the Business School acknowledges the importance of educating future leaders in responsible business practice and is committed to both the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As a signatory to the UN PRME since 2010, the Business School submits a Sharing Information on Progress (or SIP) Report every two years. These reports provide a snapshot of our progress against the six PRME themes, across the areas of teaching, research and engagement. The UNSW Business School 2021 PRME SIP Report highlights the tremendous accomplishments of the Business School and broader University in delivering against both the PRME and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The PRME underpin “a process of continuous improvement among institutions of management education in order to develop a new generation of business leaders capable of managing the complex challenges faced by business and society in the 21st century” (Laasch & Conaway, 2014), in recognition of the role that educational institutions have to play in this regard.

The umbrella term “responsible management” encompasses three underlying domains – sustainability, responsibility and ethics (Laasch & Conaway, 2014), which in turn draw on distinct but complementary fields of scholarship: 

• Sustainability is taken to mean those practices, processes and institutions that support the long-term wellbeing of societies, economies and future generations, along with the natural environments within which they are situated
• Responsibility encompasses corporate and individual responsibility towards a range of stakeholders for the economic, social and environmental impacts of business practices
• Ethics is underpinned by the discipline of moral philosophy and is concerned with practices judged to be right or good. It hence has a normative component

Reference: Laasch, O., & Conaway, R. (2014). Principles of Responsible Management: Global Sustainability, Responsibility, and Ethics: Cengage Learning.

For more information, contact BUSEDI@unsw.edu.au

In line with UNSW’s Strategic Priority for Social Impact, UNSW has embedded the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all United Nations States in 2015 in its strategy. UNSW Business School has established the SDG Committee to develop, coordinate, monitor, evaluate, and communicate the Business School’s engagement with the SDGs.

Useful Links and Resources

• SDG website – Sustainability Matters
  
• Environmental Sustainability website and report  
• SDG toolkit  
• Publish stories/events on the Sustainability Matters website
  
• Digital Accessibility Guides for Learning

Committee members

The SDG Committee members are as follows:

The UNSW Business School guidelines for achievement relative to opportunity (ARO) enable staff to have the impacts of the Australian Bushfires 2019 and COVID-19 considered when discussing achievements that they have made during this time.

UNSW also provides general guidelines for achievement relative to opportunity and performance evidence (ROPE). 

The Business school classroom inclusivity guidelines have been co-designed to inform inclusive classroom practice and reflect current research and best practices across the equity, diversity, and inclusion field. Research indicates that students are more likely to flourish academically and personally in academic settings that acknowledge and respect their personal experiences, identities, and backgrounds.

The Business School will continue to update these guidelines based on feedback from staff and students.

The Business School Digital Accessibility Guide for Learning extends the aforementioned Guidelines to enhance accessibility in online and blended learning environments. By providing accessible materials, instructors help create an inclusive and welcoming digital environment for every student, as well as eliminate barriers to student success.

The UNSW Business School strives to ensure that every student is empowered to have equal access to education. We believe that everyone has the right to an education, and to reach their academic potential, we want to increase underrepresented students' access to UNSW.

The UNSW Business School is proud to partner with UNSW Gateway and provides early conditional offers to make University entry more equitable. The UNSW Business School also extends a textbook equity scheme to first-year students experiencing financial hardship and provides additional belonging and transitional support in partnership with UNSW Student Engagement.

Useful Links

• UNSW Gateway
• UNSW Gateway Early Conditional Offer
• Bachelor of Information Systems Admission Scheme
• UNSW Equity Scholarships
• Business School Scholarships
• Business School Educational Resource Access Scheme
• AGSM MBA Scholarships and Accommodation Bursaries

The UNSW Business School wants Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Intersex students and staff to fulfill their potential and enjoy being at UNSW without experiencing any sense of alienation ill-treatment from fellow staff or students. Being a safe and inclusive environment is fundamental to who we are as a Business School.

The Ally@UNSW Network aims to ensure UNSW is a safe and welcoming place for all LGBTIQ+ Staff and Students, and the Business School is well represented in the membership of ALLY@UNSW. The ALLY training program aims to make UNSW an excellent place for everybody by reducing barriers of fear and ignorance that lead to prejudice and discrimination.

See our list of all Business School & AGSM ALLY contacts. 

Business School Initiatives include:

• Pride@AGSM Network 
• AGSM LGBTQI Leaders Scholarships 
• Future Business Leaders for Equality (a joint initiative with Sydney University Pride Network) 

UNSW recently published gender affirmation guidelines for staff and students. 

We have a zero-tolerance for sexual harassment and assault at UNSW. The UNSW First Responders are students and staff trained to offer confidential support to individuals experiencing any form of sexual assault or harassment, whether you've been directly affected, are a witness to an incident, or a support person. First Responders are not counsellors but will provide guidance. They understand that reporting sexual misconduct can be difficult; should someone choose to make a formal report, a UNSW First Responder can help, or they can complete a report on someone's behalf.

For more information, find a First Responder or go to the UNSW Sexual Misconduct Portal.

UNSW Business School emphasises the importance of health and wellbeing for all our staff and students. We are committed to sustaining a safe, respectful and inclusive environment where there is access to knowledge, services, and support for health and wellbeing. Our staff and students can and do use a wide range of services offered by the university.

For staff

• UNSW wellbeing (body, ind, places and culture)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Sexual misconduct (including reporting portal)
• Staff information and training
• UNSW Health service

For students

UNSW support and resources: 

• UNSW Health service 
• UNSW students wellbeing and health 
• Student counselling services 
• UNSW Equitable Learning Services 
• UNSW student support and success 
• Nura Gili 
• Business School student support 
• International student support 
• Student minds 
• Mind smart self-help guides 
• Sexual misconduct (including reporting portal)

Support in the community

• Call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 
• Make an appointment with a local bulk billed General Practitioner (GP) 
• Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 

Where to access self-help

• The Black Dog Institute provides free online mental health programs such as myCompass. Access is through the Black Dog Institute Online Clinic. 
• Mindspot provides free online screening tools and mental health programs for anxiety and depression.
• This Way Up provides free and low-cost online cognitive behavioural therapy programs for anxiety and depression and stress management.

For additional community and self-help resources, refer to the Business School classroom inclusivity guidelines.

The UNSW Business School is committed to the idea that fairness requires equality of access and opportunity. UNSW provides a range of support to students to manage the demands of university and a health condition, learning disability, mental health issues, or other personal circumstances impacting their studies. Once registered with UNSW Equitable Learning Services students may be eligible for a range of support or educational adjustments.

UNSW staff also have access to services to address issues with their own disability. Teaching staff can also access a range of resources to assist them to tailor their teaching for students who may have a disability.

Useful links

• UNSW DIAP 2025 
• UNSW Equitable Learning Services 
• People with disability 
• Reasonable adjustments 
• Flexible work culture 
• Disability Innovation Institute
• How to host inclusive online meetings
• Business School classroom inclusivity guidelines

The UNSW Business School comprises an incredibly diverse group of people. The Faculty is committed to cultural and linguistic diversity and strives to provide a culturally inclusive environment in which students and staff can freely express who they are, their opinions and points of view and fully participate in teaching, learning, work and social activities, and feel safe from abuse, harassment, or unfair criticism. 

We are creating a culturally inclusive culture in which: students can contribute to creating more inclusive classrooms, achieve better academic results, experience enhanced career prospects; and all staff can interact more fully with other staff and students, and can extend and develop their cultural knowledge, and we benefit from culturally diverse staff and students through experiencing broader perspectives, new knowledge, and understanding. 

Useful links

• UNSW cultural diversity teaching practices
• UNSW Be A Better Human
• Prayer, meditation, and reflection spaces
• Business School classroom inclusivity guidelines

Anti-racism policy 

UNSW Business School offers a workplace and learning environment that aims to ensure individuals and groups are not disadvantaged due to their background including race, nationality, descent, ethnicity, ethno-religious or national origin. For more information, see UNSW's Anti-racism Policy.