Physical Disability Australia

 As a Disabled Peoples Organisation (DPO), Physical Disability Australia (PDA) lives the ethos of ‘nothing about us, without us’ – people with disabilities informing advocacy and leading the change to enable every Australian living with a physical disability to realise their full potential. 

Within PDA, I see the value of lived-experience with every decision we make and the real-world outcomes achieved through our advocacy. With charities, government bodies and corporations(entities) that deliver services for and interact with, marginalised and underrepresented communities, it is both an ethical obligation and a practical necessity for the work of these entities to be informed and shaped by members of these communities, and for meaningful participation of community members to occur within decision-making structures. 

Commonly, meaningful participation within decision-making structures of entities involves reference groups, comprised of members of a marginalised community, specifically focused on aspects of the entity’s interactions with a specific target group. Reference groups are great for informing operational aspects (of entities) e.g. advising on service delivery. However, input from reference groups is not sufficient. It is critical for effective, appropriate and inclusive decision-making that people with disabilities are within high-level, decision-making structures (Boards & Board committees) & staff members, with relevant, lived-experience, are employed by the entity to ensure recommendations and input from reference groups are implemented and given value in the entity’s strategic priorities. 

As a young, disabled person who serves on 3 Boards, I am part of the change involving people from marginalised and underrepresented communities, with lived-experience, being part of and making a difference through active participation in high-level, decision-making structures within entities. Being part of the change is not an easy experience. It takes grit, a thick-skin, patience, determination and dedication. More focus is given to getting people with lived-experience on Boards, but the next, and equally important, step is change and action within entities to ensure people from marginalised and underrepresented communities can meaningfully participate and contribute within the Board environment. It is the challenge to ensure the voices of young and marginalised people are heard and considered within Boards, and we are not left feeling frustrated, undervalued and bored by inaction.

My experience, as a young person on Boards & Board Committees in a diverse range of sectors, has gotten me thinking about what it takes to get young people meaningfully involved in governance. Not just tokenistically to meet some predefined quota or societal expectation, but in a meaningful, valuable and respectful way. My recommendations for entities (charities, government bodies & the private sector) to implement to ensure young people on their Boards are supported to meaningfully participate and contribute, and some recommendations to young people to ponder when considering applying for Board positions, are itemised below. 

Support

Properly supported, appropriately experienced young people can learn greatly from Board service and considerably contribute to informed decision-making within the Board environment. 

For entities:

a) Buddying: Many Boards ‘buddy up’ new (young) Board members with existing Board members to educate them about Board processes & conduct, and most importantly to support them to feel more secure within the Board environment and enhance their ability to contribute. Things to consider include:

i) Buddying is often a short-term, ‘on-Boarding’ mechanism to provide initial support for new Board members rather than a continued, support mechanism. It is important for young Board members to have a buddy acting as a support for the duration of their time on a Board. 

ii) Allocation of buddy partners should never be done without discussion with the young Board member and ideally their buddy should be their choice. Ideally, following their first Board meeting, young Board members can be asked who they would like to buddy with. Prior to allocation the Board Chairs/Presidents should act as a support. 

iii) Buddy allocation should not be regarded as permanent. Young Board members get to know different Board members better throughout their time on a Board and may benefit from support of different Board members for different matters. Also, Board members may change, hence, buddy allocation needs to be flexible. 

iv) Some Boards refer to buddying as mentoring, which can suggest a paternalistic relationship which may unintentionally intensify the power dynamic imbalance between existing and new young Board members, reducing open conversation and reducing the benefits of buddying. 

b) Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are confidential external counselling programs offered to employees by employers. Not all entities have EAPs. However, many (particularly those involved in service delivery or areas involving direct interaction with the public) do have EAPs. Board members need to be able to access EAPs, yet many Board members of charities serve voluntarily and cannot access EAPs as they are not regarded as staff. Board members, during their first term, will more than likely discuss psychologically distressing matters or be in psychologically distressing situations while serving on a Board. It is important, both for the health and wellbeing of Board members and Board culture, that Board members are supported through an EAP to confidentially deal with the impact of such experiences with qualified healthcare professionals. For young Board members, who often have small and less established support networks, EAP access is a necessity.  

c) Training: Training is a major part of supporting young Board members. Training has been covered further under the capacity building recommendations. 

For young people: 

a) Personal support: To ensure young people’s wellbeing, they should not serve on Boards unless they have a stable close support network. Young people need at least 2 people they have known for 2+ years, who have supported them in the past, to support them during their Board service. The reality of being on Boards, as a young person, is that it is not a smooth process. There will be ups and downs, and sometimes nights (after meetings) when you cannot sleep. For your own well-being you need people who know you and can reliably support you. I am lucky to have 2-4 people (2 family and 2 friends), with similar political views & shared values, who support me.