AWEI Fireside Chats: The Power of Executive Leadership in LGBTQ+ Inclusion
Description
Join Pride in Diversity for an inaugural series called AWEI Fireside Chats: Winners of the LGBTQ+ Inclusion Awards!
There is an array of Awards given at the annual Australian LGBTQ+ Inclusion Awards, based on the results of the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) Submissions and additional nominated categories. This series will focus on the winners in these categories, where each award nomination recognises outstanding advocacy, support and/or contribution to LGBTQ+ inclusion within the workplace by leaders, role models, allies and more.
The winner of the 2026 Executive Leadership Award was Kaele Stokes from Dementia Australia.
This nomination recognises the outstanding contribution(s) to LGBTQ+ inclusion from an executive and senior leader within an organisation.
Culture is led from the top, so Executive support for LGBTQ+ inclusion speaks volumes to employees. Their contributions should include both internal and external work, sending strong messages to potential employees, customers, stakeholders, LGBTQ+ people who engage with your organisation, and the general LGBTQ+ public.
Annual AWEI Employees Survey data shows that the visible, active senior allies has a significant impact within an organisation, on employee support for organisational LGBTQ+ inclusion initiatives, and specific support for LGBTQ+ employees. Visible support from executive/leadership teams positively impacts health and wellbeing, inclusion, and acceptance. It reduces incidents of bullying and harassment and contributes to an environment where people feel safer to deal with negative behaviours.
About the Winner:
Kaele has demonstrated that executive sponsorship of LGBTQ+ inclusion must translate into measurable action. Through close collaboration with the organisation’s DEI function, she has embedded LGBTQ+ inclusion within enterprise strategy, governance oversight and frontline capability standards.
By mandating inclusive training across the organisation’s largest workforce cohort to minimise risk and strengthen service quality, supporting structured benchmarking through the AWEI, and advancing practical initiatives such as pronoun visibility and accountable recognition standards, Kaele has strengthened both workforce culture and service delivery.
Her leadership has strengthened accountability, confidence and visible commitment across the organisation. Kaele demonstrates that when executive sponsorship is deliberate, structured and sustained, LGBTQ+ inclusion becomes embedded in how an organisation governs, leads and serves.
About this Session:
Strong leadership drives real change.
Join Pride in Diversity and Dementia Australia for an AWEI Fireside Chat exploring the critical role of proactive and visible executive leadership in advancing LGBTQ+ inclusion.
What does meaningful executive support actually look like in practice? And how can leaders move beyond statements of support to actively shape the culture, policies and practices that create more inclusive workplaces?
Hear directly from leaders about their experiences of championing LGBTQ+ inclusion within their organisations, including the ways executive commitment can influence organisational culture, strengthen inclusion strategies, support employees and empower teams to drive meaningful change.
The conversation will explore real-world examples, practical approaches and lessons learned – including the importance of visibility, leadership accountability, building organisational capability and embedding LGBTQ+ inclusion into broader organisational strategy.
Whether you are an executive leader, people and culture professional, LGBTQ+ inclusion practitioner, employee network leader or someone helping to influence change within your organisation, this conversation will provide an opportunity to reflect on the role leadership plays in creating workplaces where LGBTQ+ people can genuinely feel included, supported and valued.
Discover why executive engagement is not simply valuable to LGBTQ+ inclusion – it is essential to creating meaningful and sustainable progress.
Pride in Diversity Co-hosts:
Willl Reilly (he/him), Index Project Manager
Chris Nelson (he/him), Associate Director People
Guest Panellists Murdoch University:
Kaele Stokes (she/her), Executive Director Services, Engagement & Research
This session will be online.
Registration links will be sent out the morning of the event.
About the Australian Workplace Equality Index:
The AWEI now stands as the definitive national benchmark on LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion and comprises the largest and only national employee survey designed to gauge the overall impact of inclusion initiatives on organisational culture.
To learn more about the AWEI Submissions, head to our website.
Your organisation can also register for participation in:
To learn more about nominating a colleague or campaign for outstanding contributions to LGBTQ+ inclusion within your organisation, check out our Award Nomination categories.
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