How do DE&I journeys begin? Industry experts weigh in

“I, myself, had been fortunate enough to know someone in the industry,” he said. “As I progressed in my career, I became increasingly aware of a good deal of self-assured mediocrity trading in the market, mostly due to this structural bias built into recruitment. And confident incompetence is not what our industry or indeed any organisation needs; there is nothing more derailing of performance.

“And while I was aware of this, I hadn’t been sufficiently senior or, candidly, motivated enough to be part of the solution. The change came for me when I began to really listen to female colleagues and colleagues from minority backgrounds. I began to understand and appreciate the challenges that they faced in building their careers in our industry.”

The DE&I conversation

The background of John Goulios (pictured), global co-chair of the insurance sector at DLA Piper, has instilled in him a passion for DE&I and a drive to support those who share stories similar to his own. Born in Greece, Goulios and his family arrived off the boat in Australia with a single suitcase and lived on a side of town that he doubts most of the partners serving in those city law firms ever stepped foot in.

“[So], I’ve really been part of the DE&I conversation since I emigrated from Greece,” he said. “But when I started out in the law, I wrote about 60 applications letters and got less than a handful of first interviews, even though I had a double degree in law commerce at Melbourne Uni and had got half-decent grades.