STRONGER TOGETHER: Equality in focus this week and every week

By Tanya O'Shea, IMPACT Community Services' Managing Director

"STRONGER TOGETHER" is a weekly column where Tanya explores key issues. This week Tanya focuses on equality and belonging for Human Rights Week 2021.

There is no shortage of collective nouns for various species – a pride of lions, school of fish, pack of wolves, even a loveliness of ladybugs.

For groups of people there are words like crowd, circle, family, community; but humankind is one that collectively we need to continue to strive to live up to.

To be treated fairly and as a human being really isn’t asking the world and yet across the globe people are unjustly being treated and judged as less than.

This reality is heartbreaking. Particularly in comparison of the kindness humanity has proven to be capable of throughout the present and the past.

Human rights are based on principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect, which are shared across cultures, religions and philosophies.

This year’s Queensland Human Rights Commission’s Human Rights Week, December 1-10, theme is Make equality your priority.

Their site states one of the key principles that underpins human rights protections, from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to Queensland’s Human Rights Act, is the right to equality and non-discrimination.

This is a lynchpin for daily operations at IMAPCT Community Services.

IMPACT is a member of Diversity Council Australia and has ideals of equality and inclusion embedded in our core values:

Build trust in relationships, empower others, be compassionate, celebrate uniqueness, work together, create positive impact and strive for excellence.

Each of these values underpin a workplace which enables everyone to thrive within their jobs.

When people are encouraged to be their best self and fulfil work that’s meaningful to them, there’s a greater follow-on effect whereby community and business likewise prosper.

While it comes as no surprise that when equality and safety is promoted people have a greater sense of belonging is achieved – the importance of belonging cannot be understated.

Establishing belonging is more than a matter of procedure, it’s wellbeing on an individual, business and community level.

Without it, people can be isolated and feel unworthy which can have devastating impacts on one’s mental health and ultimately the depth and success of a community.

A sense of belonging can take many forms, for Maslow and many others it’s a need and it’s worth investing in.

You deserve to be treated fairly – you belong.