Thursday, May 27, 2021 at 4:36PM David Thodey, Telstra CEO + Telstra's Senior Team, Melbourne
Telstra's senior team takes a stand for diversity
Telstra CEO David Thodey decided to throw his support behind This Is Oz, saying it was time for business to take a stand.
Mr Thodey was joined by members of Telstra's senior leadership team, pictured L to R: Robert Nason (COO) Andrea Grant (HR) John Stanhope (CFO), Deena Shiff (Business), Kate McKenzie (Marketing) and Paul Geason (Wholesale).
Mr Thodey said he was proud of the public stand taken by his team, saying it sent a very clear message to everyone in the company that Telstra stood for a culture of respect.
"Homophobia is just not acceptable and Telstra has been recognised for the work we've done in recent years to embrace diversity and update our corporate policies to remove any form of discrimination," he said.
Reader Comments (13)
Good on you Telstra! As a long time employee of this great Aussie company, I am proud to work in a place where diversity is not just tolerated, but embraced and celebrated!
Congratulations Telstra ! What an outstanding example of leadership. Would be great to see some more CEO's come on board with this.
Another reason why I'm "proud" to say I work for Telstra.
As a senior leader, in previous roles, with previous organisations, I have feared how my sexuality would be recieved. Not at Telstra, it's one of the most inclusive organisations I have worked for, and it's refreshing to come to work each day and be myself. For the first time my partner joins me at corporate functions.
When I was personaly targeted by a former employee who spoke hate, the business took a hard line and made it clear that there was no place for homophobia at Telstra.
Thanks David for your support.
What a fantastic initiative for our Telstra team to support. I second Sharon's sentiments... I am very proud to work for a company with such a focus on diversity and inclusivity.
I tip my hat to telstra on this one. They don't have to take time out of their day to do things like this but they chose to. Really good message.
I for one agree that working for Telstra has been a breath of fresh air. Since being employed at our call centre i have not once had any problem with discrimination. Its great to see that Telstra support their staff no matter what job role or title you may be in. Everyone is treated with respect in an equal working enviroment. Proud to say i work for Telstra. Go Team Telstra !!!!!
David Thodey has always been an amazing advocate for Diversity, not just lip service like most CEO's. I hope everybody in Telstra is as proud of him as I am for his undying support of Diversity in the workplace.!
Thodey et al learnt the value of visible GLBT leadership when at IBM, which is the company that has set the pace in Australia and elsewhere. They are everywhere: Midsumma, Mardi Gras, JOY . I think the won the first Diversity Australia award for GLBT too some years back... Promote them too please
I think the most outstanding aspect of this demonstration of support is that Telstra has always supported GLBT people in the workplace. They are not newcommers to supporting GLBT rights. Onya Telstra.
As a sibling of a gay person I dearly love, I thank you Telstra for embracing and celebrating all talented people. Your staff are testemonial to the future. Thank you.
Thats great,
but do you know if it trickles down to all levels of the company?
What strategies do you have in place to make sure that you have a truly inclusive workplace for all?
I am proud I work at Telstra. We were one of the first oprganisations to change many corporate policies to ensure we treated all staff equally.