The project was made possible by the generosity of employers, managers, union organisers, community leaders and individuals in giving us their time and arranging meetings for us. Very few companies of the hundreds we approached turned down our request to meet, and consequently, we went to many workplaces and met many people who had no previous contact with the Commission. Meetings were generally an hour long.
These questions were followed by a general discussion about equality and fairness at work and what is needed to effect the desired change. Typically these discussions elicited a wealth of personal stories about work, both positive and negative and highlighted a number of issues related to fairness at work.
| The following key questions were asked of all employees in the National Conversation about Work: • What do you like about working here? • What would make a difference for you to achieve equality at work? The following questions were asked of employers: • What are your most pressing issues related to employment? • Do you need assistance to improve EEO in your workplace? • What kind of assistance would be most helpful? |
Participants in the National Conversation about Work included population groups identified as EEO target groups in legislation because of their well documented disadvantages in getting work and in their conditions of employment. These groups include people with disabilities, Maori, other ethnic groups and women. Insights provided by these groups are included in the aspect of work which most impacts on them.
At the conclusion of each regional engagement, conversations were written up in regional reports with anonymised comments unless specific permission was provided by the participants. Draft reports were sent to participants for verification before they were finalised and published on the website.