BASF ANZ showcases D + I journey as case study at NFF Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Day

Sop­­hie Hulme, BASF ANZ’s Regulatory Affairs Manager, Seeds and Traits was recently invited to share learnings from BASF's diversity and inclusion journey at the National Farmer’s Federation (NFF) Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Day. The event was attended by 35 government, business and representative organisations, who share a commitment to increase gender diversity and inclusion in the agriculture industry.

In her address, Sophie, who is an active member of BASF ANZ’s Diversity + Inclusion (D + I) Council shared stories, anecdotes, and key learnings from the Council’s journey since its inception in 2017.

“D + I is about treating each other with kindness and respect regardless of our differences. Being open is one of BASF’s values and it’s important to us as a company that we promote diversity and are committed to creating a workplace where all employees feel welcome and accepted, and that they can bring their authentic self to work each day,” Sophie expressed.

Sophie shed light on BASF Australia’s and the common goal towards achieving gender parity: a 40/40/20 target which aims to achieve a workforce consisting of 40% women, 40% men and 20% either, by 2030. Sophie shared notable examples of how BASF ANZ is progressing in this area, by ‘widening the recruitment net’ to attract more female candidates through the re-writing role descriptions to remove masculine-biased language.

Sophie also shared details of an internal “Everyday Sexism” campaign BASF ANZ led, which aimed to bring awareness to phrases commonly used in the workplace with sexist undertones. In this campaign, a series of posters depicting real scenarios faced by colleagues were shared, alongside a phrase asking the question ‘Is this Everyday Sexism?’ in an effort to encourage colleagues to rethink phrases which may have unintentional sexist undertones towards either gender.

Finally, Sophie shared details of BASF Australia’s newly established Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), a strategic plan encompassing our relationships with, respect for, and opportunities in reconciliation with First Nations people The implementation of RAP aims to achieve substantive change towards reconciliation, provide learning and engagement opportunities on First Nation’s history and culture, encourage discussion of reconciliation as well as to provide valuable development opportunities for colleagues who are passionate about First Nation’s affairs.

"It was a really wonderful experience being able to debate such an important topic with like-minded people. The audience were most interested in our Diversity and Inclusion Council and wanted to know more about what each of our subgroups are doing. They expressed their appreciation that BASF has really acted upon such important changes in the workplace," she added.