A note from our CEO on her inclusion journey.

The SUB team has completed REPRESENTED - a 10 week online program with Annie Gichuru for online business owners building racially equitable businesses.

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the Bundjalung Nation whose country I live and conduct my business on. I respect their elders past, present and those emerging as the traditional custodians of this land and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

I came to do inclusion work through a gradual awakening.

I have always felt inclusive. I am open-minded, kind, empathetic and enjoy having friends, colleagues and interacting with people from diverse and marginalised backgrounds.

But in recent times I realised that I have not actively been doing anything to be inclusive or invite marginalised people into my world. If our paths crossed, I would be grateful and welcoming. But our paths did not often cross in my insulated, white, privileged existence.

Taking my business through the BCorp accreditation process and leaning into conversations my family and business friends were having around DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) matters gave me a wake-up call in 2022. Once I came to grasp the concept of white privilege and started deeply listening to the experiences of marginalised people, I never saw the world the same again.

I deep dove into inclusion work myself with my racial equity coach, Annie Gichuru, and am at the beginning of what I know will be a lifelong journey. I want to use my privilege and business as a force for good in the world and be an ally to people of colour and other underrepresented groups.

I believe that all people should be equal, regardless of the colour of their skin, their sexuality, where they were born, what they believe in, their age or their abilities.

I know the world is not currently like this. Significant inequities exist because of centuries of white privilege and intolerance of human differences.

But I believe in our ability to learn and change to create a better planet. We can do better, and we will. It starts with me.

I am dedicated to building a business that is inclusive, equitable and diverse. I am doing this by broadening my networks and making my values and beliefs publicly known so that people in underrepresented groups know that they are welcome here. I share free business content on my podcast that can be accessed by everyone. And I make discounted pricing and scholarship opportunities available to those in need of them so that my services are accessible to people from all backgrounds.

I am committed to a life of learning in matters of inclusion, diversity and equity and I will speak up as an ally on these matters. I know I will not always get it right because I am still learning and unlearning every day, but I refuse to be a silent bystander anymore about DEI matters that are important to me.

Whilst this statement describes my journey, these values and learnings filter through my business to our team and the clients we work with. Straight Up Bookkeeping is trying to be an inclusive business but like my personal journey, there is learning and unlearning happening every day as we continue to evolve in this space.

If you think I or my business can do better, I invite you to let me know with grace. And if you would like to know more about my inclusive pricing opportunities, then please reach out to me for more information. If you would just like to chat about how you can get started on your own inclusion journey, then I would love to hold space for that conversation with you. You can contact me HERE.