Griffith University has earned a third SAGE Cygnet Award for their increased support for First Peoples’ employment.

Griffith worked to improve cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and build targeted recruitment processes while prioritising First Peoples’ recruitment in their Strategic Plan.

The results included not only improved Indigenous representation on staff and in senior leadership positions, but improvements in measures of Indigenous employee engagement and recruitment experiences.

Griffith’s First Peoples Employment Partner Bronwyn Ward said this is all part of a continuing focus that can only be achieved with the help of all staff and leaders of the University:

“It has been great to see first-hand the impact that focusing on First Peoples Employment has had, on not only creating a welcoming environment for new staff to the University but hearing testimonials of the positive impact these initiatives have had on current staff,” said Ms Ward.

This Award follows Griffith’s previous Cygnet awards on LGBTQIA+ inclusion and supporting women academics in the sciences.

The Award recognises progress including:
– The appointment of the first Executive member to lead Indigenous matters at the University (Professor Cindy Shannon AM FAICD Deputy Vice Chancellor Indigenous, Diversity and Inclusion)
– Improvement on Indigenous staff engagement (+9%), wellbeing (+6%) and progress (+13%) scores since 2021.
– Increasing Indigenous staff representation from 1.4 per cent in 2017 to 2.5 per cent in 2024.
– Exceeding their 2% Indigenous representation targets four years earlier than planned.

Read Griffith University’s full Cygnet Award application here.