It's Auckland's Pride Month, and there's no better time to talk about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Pride Month, which runs from February 1-26 in Auckland, is an annual celebration of the Rainbow Community that amplifies important discussions around culture, identity and championing diversity.
Speaking to AM on Monday morning, diversity and inclusion advocate Mary Haddock-Staniland said more needs to be done in workplaces to support Aotearoa's LQBTQIA+ people.
"It means treating folks with respect and acceptance of someone who is different to you. Understanding the importance of an equitable world in the workplace means you hopefully end up cultivating cultures of true inclusion, which then leads to you having folks that feel like they belong... and a want and a desire to do their best work. Add all of those up, you get an informed, educated and engaged workforce," Haddock-Staniland told co-hosts Ryan Bridge and Melissa Chan-Green.
"The strategy has to be led from the top. If the senior leadership aren't aware of the 'why', there's not a desire from them to help drive change, then how in the hell is that going to [funnel down] to the bottom of the pyramid? Yes, you can have grassroots by the way of diversity, equity and inclusion committees that work inside organisations - let that lead strategy around systems, policies, processes, and that then influences the business overall.
"It's about visibility, making inclusive language acceptable... the days of sweeping it under the carpet are well and truly over."
Watch the video above.
