The CSIRO will support additional leave for its employees undergoing gender reassignment, with the aim of creating a morxjmtzywe inclusive workplace.
Under the new category of leave, staff are entitled to take time off for medical appointments before and after surgery, to address administrative tasks such as changing birth certificates and ID cards.
“The Gender Affirmation leave provides recognition and assistance for employees to undertake activities relating to affirming their gender without utilising all their other leave balances,” the organisation said.
Helping devise the leave plan was the Pride@CSIRO Network Leadership, which researched other leading organisations within the space to develop best practice.
“By empowering all staff to be themselves at work, we have grown an inclusive and diverse workplace culture,” Pride@CSIRO Network Lead Chris Gerbing said.
Staff will also march under the CSIRO banner in this weekend’s Mardi Gras parade – taking the theme “Power to Shine”, influenced by the Power Rangers.
Through its Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, the CSIRO has aimed to implement non-binary, trans and gender diverse inclusive policy improvements.
These include the new leave program, diversity training to over 130 leaders within the organisation, evolving internal language to be more inclusive and updating IT and software systems to allow for personal pronoun changes and display.
“Innovation happens when you bring together people with different views and experiences,” Mr Gerbing said.
“We know that diversity of thought is crucial to doing impactful science and I’m looking forward to being in the parade and representing CSIRO and our incredible people.”
In a 2021 survey of CSIRO employees, 85 per cent of LGBTQI+ respondents said they would recommend CSIRO as an inclusive place to work to other identifying people.
Other diversity programs include CSIRO’s Reconciliation Action Plan to build stronger relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and working with Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) and Champions of Change initiatives to improve gender equity.
