Bunnings - Diversity and inclusion
Bunnings actively works to ensure team members represent the communities it serves, while equally ensuring an inclusive culture where everyone feels valued, respected and a sense of belonging.
Reflecting the diverse communities in which it operates, Bunnings provides opportunities for all people regardless of their age, gender, cultural heritage, sexual orientation, or abilities. This helps Bunnings to build the best team, with strong engagement, retention and the ability to attract great talent. Bunnings strives to be an employer of choice for diverse talent and build a culture where everyone can bring their whole self to work.
Bunnings believes that when diverse and inclusive teams work effectively, they make everyone feel valued, respected, and connected at work. Bunnings are proud to employ team members that speak more than 70 languages. Bunnings are also proud to employ team that represent a wide range of ages, with 28 per cent of team members over the age of 50, and 46 per cent under 30 years of age at the end of the financial year.
During the 2023 financial year, Bunnings continued to focus on leader education across all sites through their inclusive leadership programs. A number of other learning and development programs also continue to offer all team members training to further integrate diversity and inclusion into everything they do.
Gender
Bunnings is committed to gender equality and recognises the important role it plays in supporting women in leadership roles. More than 50 per cent of Bunnings team members are women. Bunnings gender balance is 50.6 per cent women, 48.8 per cent men, 0.3 per cent identify as non-binary and 0.3 per cent prefer not to disclose their gender. Bunnings aspires for balance within all teams and has a target of 40 per cent of both men and women, and 20 per cent of any gender or who don’t identify as male or female.
Bunnings provides 12 weeks of paid parental leave for parents, regardless of gender, as well as paid superannuation on unpaid parental leave. Bunnings has seen an increase in men taking extended paid parental leave during the financial year, and believes that by supporting men, the whole family is supported. In March 2023, Bunnings increased bereavement leave to 10 days in the event of a miscarriage for either parent before 20 weeks pregnancy. Bunnings recognises the time team members need to grieve and recover in this period. For loss post 20 weeks pregnancy, permanent team members can access full parental leave provisions.
During the 2023 financial year, Bunnings introduced up to two weeks emergency unpaid foster care leave per year for team members who are registered foster carers and care for children in emergency situations. This leave allows team members to take on caring responsibilities and adjust their rosters at short notice.
Abilities
Bunnings launched sensory maps for all stores across Australia and New Zealand, working with Amaze on the map development. The maps are available on the Bunnings website to help customers enjoy a better instore experience and plan their journey prior to arriving in store.
During the year, an online sign language program was launched in Auslan and New Zealand Sign Language for team members to learn how to support deaf and hard of hearing customers and team members. More than 4,800 team members have completed the program since its launch.
Bunnings is working with The Field, a fully accessible careers site, to support people with a disability to gain employment.
LGBTIQA+
Bunnings is committed to creating a safe and supportive work environment for all team members, with gender neutral policies and a support network for LGBTIQA+ team members. Bunnings acknowledges days of significance through a calendar of events and provides rainbow flag stickers for team members who identify and support the LGBTIQA+ community. Team members are also encouraged to wear pronoun stickers on their name badges or add pronouns to their email signatures to support an inclusive work environment. To celebrate World Pride, Bunnings launched a new LGBTIQA+ awareness program to support greater awareness and inclusion in the workplace.
Māori and Pasifika
During the 2023 financial year, Bunnings continued to focus on creating employment opportunities to support the Māori community by providing cadetships for Māori people between the age of 16 and 24 years who are not employed or in the education system. The cadetship program supports participants to achieve their professional goals while highlighting the importance of connection to their cultural identity. Other employment initiatives included an internship program at the New Zealand Support Office for Māori and Pasifika university students in their final year of study.
Bunnings continues to embed Te Ao Māori into everything they do. This included the celebration of Matariki internally with team members and externally through television commercials and in-store children’s D.I.Y. workshops. Bunnings also provided additional opportunities to increase team member knowledge and celebrate speaking Te Reo Māori, by supporting team members to complete educational qualifications in Te Reo Māori, and introducing a new, online training module to support team members to introduce Māori signage throughout stores.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
Encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to obtain fulfilling jobs with leadership development and career progression is a priority for Bunnings. In Australia, 2.7 per cent of team members self-identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
During the year, Bunnings continued to offer Indigenous employment programs to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates during the recruitment and onboarding process. A new leadership program was introduced to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team members develop leadership capabilities. The Transition to Work Program also aims to recruit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing hardship to transition into permanent and rewarding work at Bunnings.
Bunnings also conducted cultural awareness training for team members and commemorated NAIDOC and National Reconciliation Week, which supported team members to engage further with the Wesfarmers Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) commitments.
Bunnings remains committed to Indigenous businesses and communities by supporting the procurement of goods and services, Indigenous customers and purposeful reconciliation initiatives. In the 2023 financial year, Bunnings collaborated with Warlukurulangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation again, to offer a new range of plant pot and citronella candle designs that showcase the work of local Indigenous artists. All royalties from the sales go directly to the not-for-profit organisation and the artists who designed the pots.
In line with Bunnings’ longstanding commitment to support local communities, team members provided fundraising opportunities, financial contributions and hands-on support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community groups at more than 700 local activities during the year.
