Tech Council of Australia unveils T-EDI framework to address gender imbalance and skills shortage in the country’s rapidly growing technology sector.
The global technology industry has been grappling with diversity and inclusion challenges for decades, with women and other underrepresented groups often finding themselves marginalised in a predominantly male-dominated field.
This issue is particularly acute in Australia, where the tech sector is experiencing rapid growth but faces a significant skills shortage.
As countries worldwide compete for tech talent, addressing diversity has become not just a moral imperative but a strategic necessity for sustaining innovation and economic growth.
In response to these challenges, the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) has partnered with Project F, the social impact business, to launch a new set of standards aimed at improving diversity in the country’s tech sector.
Together, the companies aim to find another 600,000 tech workers over the next five years.
T-EDI standards: a framework for change
The Technology Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (T-EDI) standards represent a significant step towards addressing the gender imbalance in Australia’s tech workforce, where only 28% of workers identify as women compared to 51% of the overall workforce.
“We know Australia’s future prosperity will be heavily reliant on the tech industry and on our collective ability to develop and attract talent.” – PEXA Group Chief Technology Officer and TCA Non-Executive Director, Eglantine Etiemble.
The T-EDI standards provide an evidence-based certification framework that allows companies to assess their performance against 10 equity, diversity and inclusion standards.
This initiative is part of a broader plan to achieve the TCA’s and Australian Government’s shared commitment of reaching 1.2 million tech jobs by 2030.
Emma Jones, CEO and Founder of Project F, who led the development of the standards based on six years of research, emphasises the two critical components to change: one being senior leadership teams recognising the need to invest in a long-term societal impact and the other being an easier and more accessible way to change the systems that allow for diversity, equity and inclusion.
She says: “The T-EDI standards offer clear guidance and accountability, empowering companies to implement practical solutions to create and reap the benefits of a diverse and inclusive work environment.
“There is a monumental gap between the number of tech jobs and the number of qualified candidates available to fill them, so there is a national imperative to address the structural issues that have become ingrained in the culture of tech workplaces over decades and get more women into tech jobs, which are some of the most flexible on offer.”
The standards cover various aspects of workplace practices, including hiring, parental leave policies, pay transparency and flexible work.
Companies can achieve different levels of certification, from foundation to leading, through compliance with the framework.
Eglantine Etiemble, Pexa Group Chief Technology Officer and TCA Non-Executive Director, adds: “The T-EDI standards give companies a clear and actionable framework to define what good looks like, embed equity and drive real progress.
“It provides, as well, great transparency to prospective employees and has the potential to create a differentiating value proposition as an employer.
Impact on major Australian tech companies
Several major Australian tech companies have endorsed and adopted the T-EDI standards internally, aiming to improve diversity in their workforces. These include:
Atlassian
The Sydney-based software company, known for products like Jira and Trello, has been vocal about its commitment to diversity.
The software company has adopted the T-EDI standards, aligning with their ongoing diversity efforts.
Canva
Canva, the graphic design platform headquartered in Sydney, has been actively working on diversity initiatives.
The T-EDI standards could provide a structured approach to their existing efforts.
Pexa
The property exchange network has seen significant improvements in gender diversity.
Eglantine says: “Pexa has been focusing on lifting our diversity and inclusion over the past years with great success, moving from 21% to 37% female participation in our workforce in the past two years alone”.
CyberCX
The cybersecurity services provider’s involvement highlights the importance of diversity in the critical field of cybersecurity.
These companies, along with others like Accenture and Culture Amp, are facing the challenges of the tech skills gap.
The adoption of T-EDI standards is expected to help them attract a more diverse talent pool, potentially easing the skills shortage.
TCA CEO Damian Kassabgi underscores the importance of this initiative: “Improving diversity and inclusion in tech will better position Australia to address social challenges, and support more women and other underrepresented groups to accelerate their careers in our growing tech sector”.
Eglantine concludes: “We know Australia’s future prosperity will be heavily reliant on the tech industry and on our collective ability to develop and attract talent.
“As a nation, we have been so far underperforming in making tech attractive across the workforce as only just a quarter of tech workers are female. This deprives us from much-needed talent and from the diversity of thinking we want to see reflected in the products and services we use.”
