GroupM agencies EssenceMediacom, Mindshare, and Wavemaker have partnered with Amaze, an organisation dedicated to creating an autism-inclusive Australia.
This collaboration marks a step forward in GroupM’s Disability Action Plan (DAP), launched a year ago as part of the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programme, Better For All.
GroupM joined forces with Amaze in 2023 to support the development of the A-Plus Inclusion program and is now one of the first companies in Australia to roll out a pilot.
This education programme, designed with Autistic people, provides organisations and teams with practical strategies to create a more inclusive workplace culture and environment.
GroupM hosted an event at its Melbourne campus this week during Neurodiversity Celebration Week to kick off the partnership.
Scott Laird, GroupM chief people officer, said: “Our Better For All DEI Strategy is about identifying areas of improvement across all dimensions of diversity and developing plans and partnerships that solve for these areas and shape policies, programmes, and behaviours that create an equitable workplace that celebrates diversity of all kinds.
“The partnership with Amaze and the A-Plus Inclusion pilot programme represent significant milestones in our journey towards becoming a neuro-inclusive workplace, and the A-Plus framework can support other organisations across the media communications industry.”
Alexandra Lazarus-Priestley, chief change officer from Amaze, was part of the event to discuss the A-Plus pilot and share lived experiences.
“Over the past year and a half, we’ve been deeply engaged with both the Autistic and business communities to develop a program that empowers managers and people and culture teams to drive meaningful change for Autistic and neurodivergent individuals at work.
“What’s even better about this? We know that what supports neurodivergent people at work often benefits everyone. Let’s make work environments better for all.”
Amaze is also working with other organisations to scale the pilot to support more neurodivergent Australians to find and maintain employment in inclusive workplaces across the country.