The ARA’s first LGBTQ+ Inclusion roundtable discussion kicked off with an impressive presentation by Alex Zachariah from the Woolworths Group. Alex holds the role of Head of Customer Initiatives (eCom B2C) and is also the Chair of InterRetail, a dynamic group for LGBTQ+ employees within the Australian Retail sector.
The mission of InterRetail is to support events, fundraising and networking that provide opportunities for education, awareness and celebration of LGBTQ+ people and supporters.
InterRetail commenced around 2016 with a group of 650 people and has since grown to a network of over 3,000 members and 20,000 supporters. The mission is clear – to keep growing and provide safe and supportive environments for connection and true visibility of one’s identity in the retail workplace.
Winning multiple awards, InterRetail can be considered the prime case study on how to grow your own Pride networks within retail, and then combine this knowledge and experience to help other businesses mature in their approach to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion.
In this video Alex articulates a clear methodology on how to grow your networks.
We encourage you to watch the video and share it with your Pride retail community, CEO’s, Executive Leaders and People and Culture Officers.
In 2023 the ARA created its own Position Statement on Equality for LGBTQ+ People. Our commitment is to help reduce inequalities for LGBTQ+ people and help Australian retailers focus on creating visibly safe, diverse and inclusive workplaces for their employees.
We encourage you to read our Position Statement and sign up your organisation’s commitment to the action plan.
Save the date! On the 31 August at 11.00am we will launch our next Webinar for all members. The topic is Taking Stock: Reviewing Policies and Pronouns for LGBTQ+ inclusion.
If you are unsure about how to take steps forward, feel isolated in your own workplace and would like to learn more, we welcome you to join us and listen and participate in our shared and safe learning space to connect with others and find out more.
If you are interested in joining InterRetail directly please contact Alex Zachariah: azachariah@woolworths.com.au
