For First Nation employees, we’ve established a broad range of partnerships, programs and engagement initiatives that ensure we all ‘Get Up, Stand Up and Show Up!’ for our Indigenous team members, and moreover, continue to prioritise fairness and opportunity for underrepresented groups.
But don’t just take our word for it: here are some of our First Nation colleagues talking about their Telstra experience.
What empowers me to get up, stand up and show up at Telstra as an Indigenous employee is the level of community and support. It creates a sense of safety and empowerment to strive for whatever we want to do within the organisation. We always want what’s best for our internal Indigenous members and to make an impact on the community as a whole.
On a more personal level, I’ve made close friends within the group that are always there through the happy, sad and funny moments, and I will always cherish that.
While Telstra is supportive to me as a First Nations employee, Megan Haren has made us a family. We are encouraged to get up and participate in different opportunities, we get to stand up for what we think will benefit new First Nations employees, and we get to put our words into action and make positive changes within Telstra.
Our Yaama Yaama family is diverse, strong, empowered and smart, and with that we are able to promote change and encourage others to educate themselves on how they can take action and learn more about First Nations history. I am encouraged every day to share my thoughts and ideas within Telstra, in a place I feel safe, supported and heard.
I'm a proud Ngarrindjeri woman living on Boonwurrung land in Melbourne. Growing up, I was very disconnected from my culture. I didn't find out my family was part of the Stolen Generation, or Indigenous at all, until halfway through high school. Even then, it wasn't something I engaged with or knew much about. That started to change a few years later, and I began to understand that despite the fact there were incredibly dark historical events to be found if I explored this part of my heritage, there was also a lot of wonderful knowledge and connection as well.
Because of that experience, during uni, I went out of my way to be involved in things like an Indigenous leadership program and the Indigenous uni games. Now, at Telstra, I've joined Dharrang and the Product & Technology Diversity and Inclusion group, as well as represented Telstra to Indigenous university students on a panel and at a careers fair.
I’m a proud Kooma and Bidjara man from South West Queensland, and an alumni of Telstra’s Grad Program.
At Telstra, there has always been an opportunity for me to ‘Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up’ in events for NAIDOC and National Reconciliation Week. I certainly feel that I’m a valued member of Dharrang – Telstra’s First Nations ERG, and I’m often sought out to be involved in activities and events, and to share knowledge and experience in First Nations issues.
During this year’s National Reconciliation Week, Telstra offered funding for staff across the organisation to organise and manage an event. I put together an event to support Raise the Age, a campaign that advocates to raise the age of youth incarceration in Australia from 10 to 14.
I’ve also been involved in various Indigenous not-for-profit organisations, including CareerTrackers – one of Telstra’s partners in the First Nations space. I first joined CareerTrackers as a student in 2013 and I’ve supported and advocated for the program since.
We are proud to be building a diverse and inclusive culture at Telstra, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Happy NAIDOC Week everybody!
