DEI Down Under

The relationship between government funding for LGBT organisations and their resistance to U.S.-driven policy shifts.

As submissions for the Allan Government's 2025  Organisational Development Grant  conclude, eligible organisations eagerly await funding decisions that could bolster their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts amid global discourse reshaping DEI frameworks.

The grant program offers two funding streams: up to $20,000 for emerging organisations and up to $40,000 for established ones. The grant aims to strengthen organisational capacity by supporting staff training and development and fortifying their long-term viability.

The global discourse surrounding DEI in the workplace has been heightened by recent events, following the Trump administration's decision in February to dismiss Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to serve as Chief of Naval Operations in the U.S.

 According to a study conducted by the Diversity Council of Australia , a February 2024 study showed that 7 per cent of Australian workers opposed DEI programs at work - an increase from 2017.

As conversation persists, the debate over DEI programs, their value, and the way they're implemented has been exacerbated since Donald Trump's re-election.

Adrian Price, head of design and administration of  Gravitas Consulting, a Melbourne-based HR management consultancy supporting other DEI experts in producing events and training materials, emphasised that money is the biggest hindrance to progress within organisations.

"Money is always a big issue. Unfortunately, nothing happens without money behind it. Organisations have to spend the money wisely, and for them it's cheaper to make a lot of changes in one go than to constantly sprinkle changes throughout the year," he said.

"The biggest place these grants make a difference is in the ability to hire relevant staff with relevant experience, not just entry-level people."

Price explains that monetary assistance can still feel futile. Once an organisation secures a grant, 70 per cent is allocated to employing someone to deliver a program, and 20 per cent goes towards promoting the program to the targeted community. The final 10 per cent gets absorbed into administration, including payroll costs and electricity.

Running an event in 4 weeks, Gravitas are looking to discuss where other practitioners in the workspace are feeling pushback. Price says the global circumstances of DEI are currently on the organisation’s radar.

Although the job market was looking hopeful 6 to 12 months ago, positions are now vanishing. Big corporations in Australia that would have hired a reasonable number of DEI practitioners are now being forced to let employees go.

“They [jobs] were hard to get, but there were jobs”, he says.

“Their parent companies in America have been told by the government that the laws they once operated under are no longer there."

Price explains that a large majority of his colleagues and friends are part of the transgender community. Firsthand, he has seen how travel bans and Trump’s eradication of gender ideology have emboldened the discrimination against trans people.

“Their parent companies in America have been told by the government that the laws they once operated under are no longer there."

Price explains that a large majority of his colleagues and friends are part of the transgender community. Firsthand, he has seen how travel bans and Trump’s eradication of gender ideology have emboldened the discrimination against trans people.

In particular, the Centres for Disease Control pulled their HIV-related pages down overnight. As a major global resource, Price believes the erasure of their findings contributes to the potential of seeing negative health responses.

“If all of a sudden they’re taking out reference to a group of the community that measures 5 per cent of the group’s population, they [transgender people] are not being taken into account within targeted communication and studies”, he said.

“Those of us who work in the area are trying to keep the momentum up to keep battling these things.”

In early 2020,  Blochaus Bouldering  Port Melbourne entered a partnership with LGBT organisation Climbing QTs, and have endeavoured since to host events, develop resources, and raise awareness regarding LGBTQ+ issues in the outdoors.  

Located in Port Melbourne’s industrial precinct and adjacent from The Timber Yard, Blochaus aim to provide an environment that is welcome to all, regardless of their gender, identity, or sexuality.

Meet Casey Sheather, a Melbourne-based communication designer and head ‘champ’ of the Climbing QTs meet-ups.

To continue fostering a safe and diverse environment, name tags are always made available for those who wish to use them.

“This gives everyone an in to be able to connect with everyone else, and be referred to by their preferred pronouns”, Sheather said.

“We have a specific table and space that we set up, so people come along knowing that community is gonna be there. And then, we can be insular in that, and explore out into the gym.”

During her employment with Blochaus throughout the past 2 years, Casey acknowledges that the exhilaration of ascending new heights came with barriers to entry for queer people. If Blochaus were to receive funding from the Organisational Development grant, these barriers could potentially be lifted.

“I think having discounted entry for these events, and having it specifically for queer people, really helps. It helped me get my foot in the door to try these things”, she said.

Sheather also believes that funding could open job vacancies in the route setting space at Blochaus, providing queer individuals with the responsibility of strategically placing holds in the wall.

“There’s been talk of route setting clinics, so you can learn those skills as it’s a hard industry to get into. Giving people opportunities to step in the door, but through a queer lens, is really important.”

Although the Climbing QTs events enable attendees free shoe hire and $17 entry, Sheather said that access to significantly cheaper or free climbing shoes would be an exciting venture to increase revenue and attendance rates.

“To give people access to that, would definitely tie into our advertising and getting the voice further out than Instagram, where you have to specifically search for us”, she explains.

In helping organisations to participate in events such as Pride and IDAHOBIT day, Adrian Price believes that once the movement shifts from internally focused, to looking externally, this is a key indicator of the organisation's progression.

"They clean their own house first, get their own policies and procedures cleaned up, then feel empowered by that, and start looking outside themselves for a broader purpose."

You can find the original article here.