I believe that one of the most important foundations of a thriving, high performance workplace is a culture where people feel safe and supported. Driving that culture will be a strong focus of mine as CEO.

Our annual Employee Engagement Survey results provide valuable insights into our workplace culture. Recent survey results indicate that our people generally feel valued and supported at work and that we prioritise employee health and wellbeing. However, there are areas where we must do better

One area where I am passionate about being better is the elimination of sexual and sex-based harassment in our workplaces. Workplace sexual harassment is prevalent and pervasive. Research shows that it occurs in every industry, in every location and at every level. It occurs at Downer. This is not acceptable. 

As part of our commitment to eliminate sexual and sex-based harassment, our senior leaders have committed to the following: 

- Increasing awareness across our operations of risk factors where the likelihood of sexual harassment in our workplaces may be higher

- Training our people on how to be proactive in preventing high risk situations

- Educating our people with steps to reduce risk factors

- Ensuring we maintain safe and confidential systems, which enable employees to report their complaints

- Giving confidence to our people that we have a robust process for tracking and monitoring complaints data

- Upskilling our people on how to have the right conversations to support a proactive culture and zero tolerance to sexual harassment in the workplace.

I want to ensure that our people are clear about and understand what appropriate behaviour looks like and the impact of inappropriate behaviour on others.

For me, an inclusive, respectful and safe workforce is a key measure to Downer’s success. I commit to a leadership style that supports others being able to speak up, not only when we may be offended ourselves but also when we see someone has been made to feel uncomfortable.

I encourage you to speak with your managers and reflect within your teams about the behaviours you see and expect from others.