Representation in tech: How invisible Indigenous leaders face bullying and harassment

Earlier this month, the tech world was abuzz with debate following comments from Craig Blair, a renowned VC and partner at Airtree Ventures, at a Tech Council of Australia (TCA) event.

Whilst his comments around founders’ “greatly flawed characters” being what “makes them special” sparked concern he was perpetuating toxic leadership in tech, I do have to say I agree with Craig’s follow-up statement: “If the founders we back are arseholes who behave badly, we’ve failed miserably at building a fund with a positive impact that would outlast us all.”

No voice, no power

I too agree that board members are responsible for ensuring that bullying and harassment behaviours of CEOs are addressed and stopped. This comes from my own personal experience.  As an Aboriginal woman with past experiences working on boards that are governed by predominantly non-Indigenous men, there is no voice, no power, and nowhere to go in terms of correcting this behaviour.

We cannot prevent it without Indigenous representation at the highest levels.  Beyond the tech industry, a lack of Indigenous representation across the private and public sectors is contributing to the poor treatment of our people. In just one example, First Nations staff in the federal public service reported higher rates of bullying and harassment in the workplace than their non-Indigenous colleagues for the past four years.

Constant bullying and harassment can lead to serious health and wellbeing implications – and in my case it did.  Ever since, I have been knocking on the TCA’s door to try and stop this behaviour in the industry and increase Indigenous representation in tech leadership.  Indigenous tech leaders are invisible The tech ecosystem, as we all know,  is predominantly led and occupied by white men. Indigenous tech founders are often paired with a white board who don’t have the cultural knowledge required to foster Indigenous talent. As an Aboriginal woman, I am definitely amongst not just the minority, but I would go as far as to say I’m part of an invisible cohort. This is why I have dedicated much of my energy to elevating our voices to positions of power across decision-makers and advocacy bodies within the tech industry.

With the rise of government and corporates focusing on social wellbeing and policies reinforcing the commitment to purchasing from Indigenous-owned businesses, the risk of bullying and harassment within tech startups will continue. Why is this different from what is already infesting our industry? When it happens at a government level, there is nowhere to go – no one to report bad behaviour to in order to have it dealt with swiftly and with care.

I have been in roundtables and other forums where the needs of the tech sector are centric to the purpose – and the topic of diversity is focused on gender and skilled migrants. That’s where it stops short.  Indigenous people are invisible and go completely unheard.  This isn’t because there is a lack of Indigenous leadership in this space – it’s because those in power and who have the ear of government choose not to listen to Indigenous leaders. If we don’t have representation at the top, we don’t have a voice and are left vulnerable to being ignored, bullied and harassed.

“Getting gender right first”

What we need to see is Indigenous representation in the TCA to effectively advocate for Indigenous voices and increase representation across the industry. In my previous efforts to push for this change, I’ve been disappointingly told that the focus was on getting the gender balance right first. As if to say, gender takes priority over Indigenous perspectives and representation.

A white woman cannot speak for me – we do not have shared experiences – and we need to advocate for our men as well – because they are also invisible.  The elevation of Indigenous voices had previously been stifled by the TCA’s singular focus on improving gender and subsequently skilled migrant representation in the tech sector. Whilst these are of course important too, it does not mean we can continue to silence Indigenous voices in tech.

There are other bodies in our industry charged with similar responsibilities. They have no Indigenous voice from the community but are more than happy to hear from other non-Indigenous people to provide our “perspective” or “voice.” This is not the answer. Self-determination requires Indigenous people to have their own seat at the table.

If it’s for us, it needs to be by us

I’ve seen in the tech industry in particular, the most inappropriate people speaking on behalf of our people – and it’s got to stop.  Some of these people have no right to be employed anywhere near Indigenous communities, individuals or initiatives, yet they get to speak on behalf of our people and without our permission.

Bringing about change

Under new leadership, the scope of conversation around diversity within the TCA has widened, with more openness for consultation with Indigenous leaders creating a more promising outlook for the future of the Indigenous tech community. I hope to see the TCA look at diversity for what it is and make real, tangible efforts to include the voices of Indigenous people as well as other intersectional voices like people with disabilities and neurodiverse people.  As an industry, we need to go beyond a D&I framework, which predominantly focuses on elevating the voice of non-Indigenous women who have a bi-lineal view of the world and do not understand (nor prioritise) intersectionality.

At Land on Heart, we will continue to offer our services to create culturally inclusive and safe workplaces across the tech industry so that more of our people can prosper in this industry and ensure we are seen and our voices heard.  Otherwise, more of the same bullying will occur – to the detriment of our people.

We need tech leadership to take responsibility for pushing for more Indigenous representation,  but when these very leaders are the white men on our boards – we are rendered continually powerless.