We are here to serve our community. Our community is made up of people with diverse experiences and perspectives – and so should we be! We want to be a Club of choice for people from all walks of life, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes sense.
New Lambton FC Juniors is committed to making Inclusion, Diversity & Equity (IDE) at our Club a priority. We want to create an inclusive Club culture where everyone feels respected, safe and valued so they can be themselves and fully contribute their opinions and perspectives to the success of the Club and the wider community.
We value diversity of thought and we focus on equity at the Club. We expect that all people associated with the Club will treat each other and members of the community fairly and respectfully.
This aligns with our WEIR values.
We are currently developing our first Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (IDE) Strategy. The IDE Strategy outlines six diversity focus areas, which are traditionally linked to systemic barriers and disadvantages in the workplace:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement
- Accessibility
- CALD – Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
- Females / Gender Equity
- LGBTIQ+ Inclusion
- Youth Inclusion
There are many diversity groups in Australia and just as many different equity challenges which need to be addressed. Since our organisation is at a foundational level of IDE maturity, we will begin our work in this space by concentrating our efforts on the above six areas. However, our priorities will be reviewed regularly and we may include other focus areas in the future.
Key definitions you need to know
What do we mean by IDE?
Our focus at New Lambton FC Juniors is on inclusion, because we know that diversity without inclusion doesn’t work.
INCLUSION is what makes diversity work! It’s what you experience when you have access to equal opportunities and you feel valued and respected by the organisation and your colleagues for who you are. It’s what you feel when you know that your opinions matters and that you can bring your whole self to work without fear of disadvantages or unfair treatment because of who you are.
Inclusion is an active choice and a shared responsibility of everyone because it’s about how we treat each other every day. It should be an integral part of how we do things, rather than an additional thing to do.
DIVERSITY is defined as all the characteristics that make up our unique identities. It includes, but isn’t limited to, our gender identity, education level, family circumstances, cultural or linguistic background, sexual orientation, marital status, socio-economic background, caring responsibilities, or disability / ability. It’s the mixture of characteristics, experiences and perspectives that make you YOU!
More importantly, it’s about diversity of thought – bringing different viewpoints together, challenging the status quote and coming up with the best solutions for our organisation and our community.
EQUITY implies giving everyone what they need to be successful, taking their circumstances and requirements into consideration. Equity is therefore aiming for equal outcomes rather than equal treatment.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
There are hundreds of different languages, cultures and beliefs among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. When we refer to them as “Indigenous”, we are using a collective term for an extremely diverse group of people. The Australian Government has 3 criteria for determining whether a person is Indigenous. According to this definition, a person is Indigenous if they 1) are of Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander descent, 2) identify as Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander and 3) are accepted by the Indigenous community in which they live.
NOTE: The acronym ATSI can be offensive to some members of Indigenous communities because it can sometimes be perceived as a “catch all” term for two very distinct cultural groups (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians) and because there are historical sensitivities around recognising people’s individual cultural identities.
CALD
Acronym for culturally and linguistically diverse people. This includes people who were born overseas, people whose parents were born overseas, people who speak a language other than English at home, people of diverse religious beliefs, or people who maintain a strong connection to their family’s diverse cultural backgrounds.
Disability
The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) defines disability as:
- total or partial loss of the person’s bodily or mental functions
- total or partial loss of a part of the body
- the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness
- the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person’s body
- a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction
- a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgement, or that results in disturbed behaviour;
and includes disability that:
- presently exists
- previously existed but no longer exists
- may exist in the future
- is imputed to a person (meaning it is thought or implied that the person has disability but does not).
Gender
The way in which a person identifies or expresses their masculine or feminine characteristics. Gender is generally understood as a social and cultural construction. A person’s gender identity or gender expression is not always exclusively male or female and may or may not correspond to their sex.
LGBTIQ+
An internationally recognised acronym which is used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people collectively. Many subgroups form part of the larger LGBTIQ+ movement.
Lesbian: A woman whose primary emotional and sexual attraction is towards other women.
Gay: A person whose primary emotional and sexual attraction is towards people of the same sex. The term is most commonly applied to men, although some women use the term.
Bisexual: An umbrella term to describe a person who is sexually and emotionally attracted to more than one gender.
Transgender: A person whose gender identity is different to their sex at birth. A trans person may take steps to live permanently in their nominated sex with or without medical treatments.
Intersex: People who have genetic, hormonal or physical characteristics that are not exclusively male or female. A person who is intersex may identify as male, female, intersex or as being of indeterminate sex.
Queer: ‘Queer’ is an umbrella term for a range of sexual and gender identities. Some people use queer to describe their own gender and/or sexuality if other terms do not fit. It is important to note that for some people, especially older LGBTIQ+ people, ‘queer’ can also have negative connotations because in the past it was used as a discrimination term. The term has been reclaimed in recent years and is increasingly used by younger LGBTIQ+ people in an empowering way or to describe themselves.
‘+’: This represents other diverse gender identities and sexual orientations that are not represented already in the acronym.
Sex
A person’s biological characteristics. A person’s sex is usually described as being male or female Some people may not be exclusively male or female (refer to the term “intersex” in LGBTIQ+ for additional explanation). Some people may identify as neither male or female.
Sex and gender diversity
Includes the various sex and gender identities, and refers to the whole spectrum of sex and / or gender in our community.